


Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man

by the_writer1988



Series: Understanding The Real Hero [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Hurt Tony Stark, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pro-Sokovia Accords, Things will get better for Team Cap as the story goes along, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, avengers watch the movies, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 63,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24840706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_writer1988/pseuds/the_writer1988
Summary: Team Iron Man and Team Cap are hauled into a mysterious room where they are told they have to watch the story of one of their very own. Unfortunately for Team Cap, they have to watch 9 movies about Tony Stark.For Tony, this is the worst thing that could happen to him.But it may help prevent the fate that awaits Tony…
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Understanding The Real Hero [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796896
Comments: 762
Kudos: 1541
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, Character's find out their futures, Tony Stark Defense Squad I, Waiting for updates





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Welcome to my new series. I said at the end of "Old Souls" that this was a fic I always wanted to try. And here it is. 
> 
> This story will start off quite an anti-Team Cap one. But when you write this type of story you do have to push the characters further. All the characters will go on a journey through this series so please bear with me, especially if you find the characters more hostile than they should be. It's the way these types of stories work to make them more interesting.

**Understanding The Real Hero**

**One**

When Tony opened his eyes, he hadn’t expected to see Steve Rogers’s concerned face looking down at him.

He groaned, closed his eyes, and rolled over, shaking his head, hoping it was an illusion. Casting his gaze around at his surroundings, Tony found himself in a room painted yellow with a large wall-to-wall screen embedded inside the wall on one side of the room. Two rather long couches were positioned neatly next to one another.

He realised he had not imagined Steve Rogers face, something he had hoped he had.

And Steve wasn’t alone here either.

The whole gang was there, including Thor and Bruce who were both looking rather confused, especially since no one had seen either of them in over a year since the Ultron fiasco.

But then everyone was looking wary and confused.

Clearly none of them knew where they were and how’d they come to be there.

“Tony, are you okay?” asked Rogers.

Tony threw him a glare. It had only been a few weeks since Rogers had broken into the Raft and released the Avengers that had been imprisoned there. That had been a political nightmare for Tony, though he had delayed Ross enough on the phone to allow Rogers and the fugitives to escape.

Not that they knew Tony had simply allowed them to walk out. He expected they wouldn’t really care if they had known.

He could have easily stopped them if he had wanted to.

Tony scrambled to his feet and moved back towards Rhodey, who was sitting back against the wall, rubbing his head.

“Where are we?” Rhodey winced. “And how did we get here?” He caught sight of Rogers and his little gang. “They’re here too?”

“Seems so,” replied Tony quietly. “Everybody is. Even Thor and Bruce and no one has seen Bruce in over a year.”

“Have you noticed there is no door out of this place?” noted Rhodey quietly.

Tony cast his eyes about. “Good point.”

“Hey, Stark!” Sam Wilson’s voice broke out over the small clutter of chatter emanating around the room. “What did you do to bring us all here?”

“This wasn’t me!” retorted Tony. “I’m just as in the dark as all of you!”

“Why bother lying, Stark?” snarled Wanda. “You know we will find the truth eventually! You’ve had us all bought here to turn us over!” But as Wanda tried to use her powers, she found wisps of red escaped her fingertips but then vanished. Her eyes widened in shock. “What… my powers… I can’t….” Hate-filled eyes sought Tony out. “What did you do to me, STARK?”

“Wanda!” barked Rogers. “If Tony says he had nothing to do with this, I believe him.”

“Protecting me doesn’t mean I will suddenly forgive you!” shouted Tony. He wished he had a suit with him but if Wanda’s powers were not working there was a high chance his suit wouldn’t work either. “Look, whatever has happened to all of us, we need to stop accusing and get around to fixing!”

“What have we missed that has got everyone at Tony’s throat?” asked Bruce, stepping forward, noting the tension in the room between Tony and the rest of the Avengers. “The last thing I remember is being with Thor on a spaceship. We were heading back to Earth…”

“What were you doing on a spaceship?” asked Tony. “You’ve been missing for over a year.”

Bruce scratched the back of his head. “I’ve been gone since Ultron. For me, that was over two years ago…We've been travelling in space for a while.”

“But for us, that was just over a year ago…” said Tony, his mind whirring through the facts that were becoming clear.

“Can the Futurist not explain what is going on?” smirked Clint, now approaching the small group that was forming.

On one side Tony stood with Rhodey and Vision, with Natasha hovering close by, with Thor and Bruce in the middle, whilst the rest compromised of Steve’s team.

“Wait, where’s Scott?” asked Steve. “And T’Challa? They’re not here.”

 _They were not required._

The voice echoed around the room, startling everyone there.

“Is this one of your psychopath A.I’s gone nuts again, Stark?” hissed Wanda.

Before Steve could remind her again, the voice spoke up, a hint of anger in its voice.

_No, you silly little girl. I am someone far more powerful than that. I have brought you all here for one specific reason._

“And what’s that for?” asked Natasha quietly.

_If you stay apart, hating one another, you will not be able to prevent the catastrophe that is bearing down upon you all. For Bruce and Thor, it will begin as soon as they leave this place. They have been wrenched from the future, back in time, because all of you need to be prepared for what is to come if you are to prevent it._

“Prevent what?” asked Steve.

_You will learn about it in this room. You will not be allowed to leave until you are made aware of certain future events._

“So, you are going to show us our future,” said Sam, “in the hope, we can stop it from happening?”

_Yes._

A brown box suddenly appeared in front of the two sofas.

_However, for you to feel dedicated to changing the future, you must see the past. The air of distaste in this room for one person is clear to me you will not focus on truly changing anything until you see the true person underneath the façade._

Tony swallowed, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.

 _You, little girl,_ the voice focused on Wanda, _have an unhealthy hatred of Tony Stark. I think it is time all of you had your eyes opened._

Tony knew he wasn’t going to like this.

 _There is a total of nine movies for you to watch. If you try to skip any, the movies will not play._

Rhodey opened the box and lifted out nine blu-rays. “Well… this is going to be fun.”

“It’s Stark, isn’t it?” spat Wanda. “I don’t need to see movies about him! I know exactly who he is!”

Tony knew he could never change Wanda’s opinion of him. She still thought of him as the murderer of her parents. Trying to explain to her that he’d had nothing to do with their deaths was like hitting a brick wall.

 _Yes, all of these movies have one thing in common. They all feature Tony Stark_ , the voice explained. _They are in order of how you should watch them._

“What’s the list?” asked Bruce.

Rhodey laid out all the casings on the floor. “The first one is aptly named ‘Iron Man’.” He cast a glance at Tony.

“I did not sign up for this shit,” groaned Tony. “Are the rest labelled ‘Iron Man 2 to 9’ by any chance?” He sincerely hoped they wouldn’t be.

Rhodey cast his eyes over the titles of each one. “No. They have two more titled ‘Iron Man 2’ and ‘Iron Man 3’. The rest are called Avengers with a subtitle. Oh, apart from these two. ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’.”

“No, no, no, no, no… We are not watching the kid!” Tony refused. “I draw the line at that! This lot -” he motioned to Cap’s team, “-can not know who he is, period!” 

_You have no choice, Tony Stark,_ the voice said gently. _They’ll learn his true identity eventually. And, this way, the Avengers knowing who he is will help you protect him._

“I’ve got no choice, have I?” sighed Tony. “We’re here until we’ve watched all of these movies. I’m not thrilled they seem to be all about me.”

Wanda scowled. “You love the limelight, Stark. If these movies are telling the truth then we will soon see the real you. You’re not a hero.”

Tony grated his teeth. He was about to snap back a reply when the voice interrupted instead.

_Do you consider yourself a hero, witch? Because you are not a hero._

“Everyone here is a hero in their own right,” added Steve. “Whatever happens in the future has to be really bad if you want us to stop it from happening by reviewing our previous and future actions.” He lifted his face a bit, hoping he was addressing the voice. “Can we just not watch the ones from our pasts? We all know how things happened anyway. Surely we should be focusing on the future?”

_You have no choice in the matter._

“So, you’re stuffing Stark down our throats further?” snarled Wanda, her fingers twitching. “Nothing you can show us about him will ever make me change my mind about him!”

_Oh, you’d be surprised, little witch. Are you afraid these films will show the others the real you? Because they will. You have every reason to be scared of me._

Steve stood up straight. “Do not threaten her! She’s just a child!”

 _Really, Rogers?_ scoffed the voice. _Do you even know how old she is?_

“She’s just turned eighteen,” said Steve. “Not even legally an adult during the Ultron debacle.”

 _She really has you wrapped around her finger… She’s twenty-four._

“No, I’m not!” screeched Wanda.

_How old were you when your parents died?_

Wanda seethed. “I was ten.”

_The Sokovia war occurred prior to Stark’s kidnapping, back when his business was primarily selling weapons. In 2008 you were sixteen. Therefore in 2015, you were twenty-three. And in your home country of Sokovia, you legally become an adult at age eighteen. You’ve been hiding your real age._

Rhodey frowned. “Why would you lie about your age to us?”

Tony wanted to respond. He had a pretty good idea of why she had tried to hide her true age. Everyone had assumed she was just a kid who hadn’t known any better.

 _Because she doesn’t want to take responsibility for her actions,_ the voice retorted.

“I do!” Wanda defended herself.

_Then why did you allow Stark to take the blame for Ultron?_

“Wanda had nothing to do with Ultron’s creation,” said Steve. “That was all on Tony.”

Wanda’s face paled. It was a reaction only Tony caught.

_The truth will be known as you all watch the movies. Please, you need to begin._

Tony sighed. “I don’t like this. But we have to do it. Put the first one in, Rhodey. The sooner we get these watched, the sooner we can go back to our lives and forget this ever happened.”

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> We've never known Wanda's true age. I've always felt she was older than 18 in the movies and decided to give her age in her early twenties. She doesn't look like someone who is just 18 and she isn't a kid either, another factor in reasoning why I did so. 
> 
> Bruce and Thor have been transported back from the moments just before Infinity War began, whereas Tony and the others are somewhere close to just after the events of Civil War, which is why there will be a lot of tension between Tony and the others. 
> 
> I also decided to not include T'Challa, Peter Parker, or Scott Lang. I wanted to focus on the main divisions between the Avengers. 
> 
> And the title "Understanding The Real Hero" comes from the Avengers: Endgame soundtrack where the music for Tony's funeral is titled "The Real Hero".
> 
> Next chapter, they start watching Iron Man. A lot of the movie scenes will be described with what the characters say eluded to and will not be in script format. There will be some scenes written out in full but I feel this is the best approach to this type of story. 
> 
> I aim to update weekly. :)
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> the-writer1988


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They begin watching the first Iron Man...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments for the first chapter. I wasn't expecting such a response! 
> 
> In this chapter, they start to watch the first Iron Man. Parts of the film are just described. Other parts of it are fully written out. I want a balance between the two. Things that I feel the characters will react to are fully written out. I hope this technique isn't too jarring. 
> 
> Bucky is in the room as well. I didn't mention everyone in the room in the previous chapter but just to clarify:
> 
> From Team Iron Man: Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Natasha*  
> From Team Cap: Steve, Bucky, Clint, Wanda, Sam  
> From Team Thor: Thor and Bruce
> 
> *Natasha is counted as Team Iron Man here even though she did help Steve in the end. She is sitting more towards the middle-ground.

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Two**

They all positioned themselves on separate sofas.

Tony sat on the far end of the left sofa in front of the screen. Rhodey sat next to him with Bruce and Thor joining them, leaving the rest of the sofa for Vision and Natasha. Steve sat on the right sofa, sat next to Natasha with Bucky and Sam next to him, with Wanda and Clint taking up the rest.

Rhodey took the controls and pressed play.

**There was a convoy of Humvees speeding down a road in the middle of know where.**

“Fuck,” Tony swore. It had to start here, didn’t it?

“Language,” retorted Steve.

“Shut up, Rogers! This is my life you’re seeing; I can swear as much as I want because I did not want you to ever know about this time of my life!” Tony said back, a little bit of anger boiling through him. If he had to sit through nine movies of Rogers constantly criticizing him, Tony wasn’t sure Steve would make it out of this room completely intact.

**Then AC/DC’s “Back in Black” began to play over the sound of the Humvee’s trailing through the desert.**

“You always liked your music,” commented Natasha.

**A hand holding a small glass of alcohol appeared on the screen.**

“Here we go,” muttered Tony. Knowing what was coming next was not something he was looking forward to reliving.

**Two soldiers were looking at the drinker. The camera shows a younger-looking Tony Stark, sitting in the back of the Humvee, taking a sip from the drink. Tony glances around uneasily at the soldiers. “I feel like you are driving me to a court-martial. What did I do? I feel like you’re going to pull over and snuff me. What? Are you not allowed to talk?”**

Steve frowned. “You shouldn’t be so disrespectful of soldiers. They put their lives on the line every day.”

Wanda sneered. “Something Stark would never do.”

“The day Stark puts his life on the line is the day I’ll bow in honour of him, which will never happen,” scoffed Clint. 

Tony wanted to retort but he figured there would be no point. Had Clint forgotten the sacrifice Tony had nearly made when they had first formed the team? Was he so hated by his former team-mates that they had forgotten what Tony had already done for them? 

**Tony on-screen looks at the soldier next to him. “Hey, Forrest!”**

**“We can talk sir,” the young man replied.**

**Tony looks away. “Oh, so it’s personal.”**

Steve rolled his eyes. “Is it so hard for you to believe you are not that likable?”

Rhodey moved to retort but Tony laid a hand on his friend’s arm. “It’s not worth it,” he urged quietly.

**The woman sitting in the front of the Humvee replied that Tony intimidated them. Tony seemed surprised and commented he was surprised she was a woman and he wouldn’t have been able to call that. He said he’d apologise but it wasn’t what they were going for. He had thought of her as a soldier first.**

**The woman responded that she was an airman.**

**Tony was stunned by the revelation. “You have actually excellent bone structure there. I’m kinda having a hard time not looking at you now. Is that weird?”**

Everyone muttered yes.

“Always a playboy… How Pepper Potts puts up with you, who knows,” slighted Clint.

**The soldiers laughed.**

**Tony urged them to laugh, attempting to lighten the mood.**

**“Sir, I have a question to ask.” The soldier sitting next to the woman turned to face Tony.**

**Tony held up his drink. “Yes, please.”**

**“Is it true you went twelve for twelve with last year’s Maxim cover models?”**

**Tony removed his sunglasses. “That is an excellent question.”**

“Really?” Steve condemned.

“Seems like a rubbish one to me,” sneered Wanda. “This movie is showing us what we already know. Stark is selfish and cares for nothing other than himself!”

Bruce shifted in his seat. “All this hatred of Tony is unnerving.”

“It’s not our fault Stark is easy to criticise!” hissed Wanda.

Tony sighed. They were only at the beginning and already he was feeling ganged up on.

**Tony explained that March and he had a scheduling conflict but it was fortunate the Xmas cover was twins. He went onto ask if there was anything else.**

**Forrest raised a hand tentatively.**

**“You’re kidding me with the hand up, right?”**

**The soldier blushed and put his hand down. The soldier wanted to know if it was cool to take a picture with Tony.**

Wanda nearly gagged. “Who’d want a photo with Stark?”

Tony had to bite his tongue from retorting.

**Tony said it was very cool. Forest smiled and got out his camera and passed it to the soldier in front. Forrest leaned in closer to Tony and then he raised his hand and made the peace sign. Tony commented he didn’t want the photo on his MySpace page and to not use any gang signs. Forrest lowered his hand.**

**“No, throw it up! I’m kidding!”**

“Doesn’t sound like you were joking,” observed Bruce.

Tony was sitting with his head in his hands. “I was a bit of an idiot back then… Completely focused on myself and not others.”

“You still focus on yourself,” whispered Wanda but loud enough to still be heard by everyone in the room.

“Wanda,” said Vision quietly, “can you please not make such hurtful comments without knowing the full truth?”

Wanda frowned but relented from commenting further.

**Tony said he loved peace, but he’d be out of a job with peace.**

“That’s not true,” said Tony, hardly daring to believe how much of a conceited git he had been. He’d changed for the better.

**Forrest began to get impatient, urging the soldier in the front seat to take the photo. “Come on! Hurry up! Just click it! Don’t change any settings. Just click it!”**

**Then the Humvee in front exploded, scattering debris and rained down dust around them.**

“What was that?” roared Thor as everyone jumped in their seats.

“A shell or mine,” said Tony. “They are implanted in the road and undetectable unless you are making a point of searching for them. We lost quite a few soldiers through stealth attacks like that. We’d used that road earlier in the day… the insurgents must have planted a mine whilst I was carrying out the demonstration I was there for.”

**Every soldier screamed as the dust and fire fell around them. The woman in the front yelled: “Contact left!”**

**Tony was trying to keep it cool, though it was clear he was anxious. He wanted to know what was going on and glanced at the soldier next to him.**

“His name was Jimmy,” said Tony quietly. He’d made a point of finding out the names of all the soldiers who had died defending him. He would never forget them.

**On-screen they could hear guns firing all around the Humvee. The airwoman opened the door and was instantly killed by a hail of bullets. The man in front turned around, yelling at his subordinate, Jimmy, to stay with Stark.**

**As the soldier exited the Humvee, Tony was pushed down by Jimmy in an effort to protect him. Jimmy ordered him to stay down, just as the other soldier set up a defensive position on the bonnet of the Humvee.**

**But it was no use. He, too, died within seconds, his blood splattering against the windscreen Tony could see out of.**

Steve winced. “This is… this…”

“Bloodthirsty,” swallowed Natasha.

Tony turned his head away from the screen. He knew what was coming. He couldn’t watch. 

“Tony?” Bruce asked quietly. “Are you okay?”

Gritting his teeth, Tony glanced at Bruce. “I’m fine!”

**Jimmy was readying his gun, fiddling with the settings. “Son of a bitch!” He continued to fiddle harder with his gun.**

Not even Steve made a comment on the language.

**Tony cast his eyes around, trying not to give away how desperate he was feeling. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye as Jimmy opened the door, preparing to get out.**

**Tony reached across, demanding a gun but Jimmy had already left the Humvee and yelled through the window for him to stay there.**

Tony once again closed his eyes and then heard the horror of his companion’s shouts as they witnessed **a surge of bullets rocket through the Humvee, narrowly missing Tony in his seat and killing Jimmy instantly.**

“NO!” Steve yelled, aghast at the bloodthirstiness of the situation, aware that this was the reality of war.

“I should have been there,” said Rhodey quietly.

Tony risked opening his eyes. “I’m glad you weren’t. They killed everyone there.”

“I should have protected you,” muttered Rhodey glumly.

“You were there?” asked Thor.

Rhodey nodded. “Tony had left me behind… We were about six minutes behind Tony’s convoy. By the time we reached it…” He closed his eyes and shuddered. “We were too late…”

**Tony moved to the right in his seat, opened the door, and tumbled out into the desert.**

“Why’d you get out for?” yelled Steve. “He told you to stay!”

Tony felt anger rip through him. “If I’d stayed it wouldn’t have changed the outcome of this.” Though a part of him realised if he had stayed, it would have been unlikely of him to have had the chest injury… He hadn’t known it at the time. And Tony did know the terrorists had started the attack with the intention to kill him… until they had learned who he was.

**Tony ducked as a missile exploded close by him. Tony ran for it, heading to an outcropping of rocks and dived behind them as explosions rocked all around him. Scrambling in his pocket, he pulled out his phone –**

“Really, Stark? Phoning someone?” scoffed Wanda.

Tony wanted to respond but there was no point. He remembered thinking of wanting to talk to Pepper one last time. He’d been about to call her…

**He was trying to keep composed but to the right of him landed a small missile in the sand with the logo of Stark Industries plastered across the side of it.**

“Uh, oh…” muttered Sam. “Get out of there, Stark!”

**Tony saw the missile, his mind working furiously as he realised what weapon it was. He tried to scramble back but it exploded, sending him flying backward. He flung up an arm to protect his face and landed heavily on his back.**

Rhodey paled, looking shocked.

“This is it, isn’t it?” asked Bruce.

Clint glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

“How Tony got the Arc Reactor,” confirmed Bruce.

**Tony lay on his back, groaning, and struggling to maintain consciousness. He glanced down and saw blood seeping through his white shirt.**

“Shit,” breathed Steve. 

**The blood coated his shirt.**

**His head hit back in the sand again and his whole body went limp as he fell unconscious.**

“So, that’s what happened?” whispered Rhodey, head bowed.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. They must have grabbed me quickly. Next thing I knew…” He didn’t want to think about it.

**A strange material was covering the screen, a bright light shining through it and they could hear a strange language being spoken.**

**The material was pulled off and it was revealed to be Tony. He blinked and turned his head slowly inspecting his surroundings. There were cuts all over his face. He swallowed and saw a camera aimed at him and he was surrounded by men holding guns. The camera panned out and they saw Tony’s chest wrapped with heavy bandages, some still stained with blood. Tony’s hands were bound behind him as the men holding him continued to speak in another language.**

“Well, shit,” dropped Clint.

Tony winced. They were finally seeing what he had suffered.

“They were filming you… We never received any communication from them…” frowned Rhodey.

Tony lowered his gaze. “It wasn’t for you.”

 **The screen went dark and the words ‘IRON MAN’ appeared.**

Wanda curled up. She glanced at Tony. “I didn’t know…”

Tony threw her a look. “What? That I was hit by my own weapon and held captive? Hardly anyone knew what happened here,” he sighed. He was surprised she was showing a small amount of sympathy for him. He didn’t think it would last long either. He turned his attention back to the screen.

**“Tony Stark.”**

**The scene reformed into a large banquet hall with pictures of Tony scattered all over. The words ‘Las Vegas’ captioned over the screen, followed by ’36 Hours earlier’.**

Tony groaned. “Great…” They had to show this, didn’t they?

**The voice continued as the lights darkened in the banquet hall.**

**“Visionary. Genius. American Patriot.”**

Steve snorted. Tony scowled.

**Images of Tony flashed up on a large screen projected above the audience. There were magazines and posters of him as the voice-over continued to talk about him.**

**“Even from an early age –” There was a shot of a young Tony. “The son of legendary weapons developer, Howard Stark,” they showed a picture of Howard, “quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four he built his first circuit board, at age six his first engine.”**

“Wow,” whistled Sam impressed. “You really did all of that?”

Tony nodded. “Sure did. Not that it impressed my father much… He was always pushing for more.”

Steve frowned. “You must have got it wrong, Tony. Howard wasn’t like that.”

“And you knew him for how long, Rogers?” Tony rolled his eyes. Steve’s belief he knew Howard better than his own son… “People change, Rogers. I was born nearly thirty years after the Second World War. I think I knew him better than you ever did.”

 **“And at seventeen he graduated summa cum laude from MIT.” There was a shot of Tony kneeling next to Dummy. “Then, the passing of a Titan.” There was a photo of Howard shown on screen, confirming his death in a tragic car accident,** (Bucky winced at seeing the misleading headlines.) **followed by one of Howard and his business partner, Obadiah Stane. “Howard Stark’s lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane, steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until at the age of twenty-one, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Stark Industries.”**

**A cover of Forbes flashed up on the screen of Tony and Stane.**

**The screen focused on Stane, sitting in the audience, clapping.**

Tony felt anger and hurt rush through him. Obadiah’s betrayal still stung all these years later.

**“With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father’s legacy, creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting –” Schematics of missiles flitted across the screen. The Rolling Stones cover dominated the screen showing a photo of Tony with the words ‘Tony Stark wants to save the world’.**

“I still want to save the world,” muttered Tony. He knew something big was coming. They weren’t alone in the universe. He’d supported the Accords because he knew he needed to be on the world’s side when the inevitable happened. The fact they were sitting here having to watch these movies only proved his belief right.

Something was coming.

And they were already unprepared for it because Rogers had refused to compromise.

**“Today Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry, ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe.”**

Wanda glared at the screen. “If that was true, Sokovia…” She stopped. Her own country had been in turmoil for years.

**The presentation ended with a photo of Tony standing in the middle of the screen, flanked by Air Force ships. Everyone in the room clapped as the presentation video ended.**

**A man now stood at the podium in the centre of the stage.**

“Hey, Platypus!” grinned Tony.

Rhodey groaned. “Not my best look…”

**Rhodey was wearing his Air Force suit. A spotlight beamed down on him as he leaned down to the mic. He explained he was the liaison to Stark Industries and that he’d had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He continued explaining he was a friend and a great mentor, and it was his honour to present the Apogee Award to Tony Stark.**

“And you weren’t even there…” grumbled Rhodey.

Tony winced. The start of this film wasn’t showing him in a good light at all. He tried to ignore the looks Team Cap was giving him. He didn’t need to see the condemnation on their faces.

**People clapped around the room as a spotlight shone on an empty chair at a table set in the middle of the room where Stane sat. Rhodey, holding the trophy, looks around. He asked for Tony and Obadiah shook his head in disappointment. Rhodey seemed uncomfortable, loss of words due to Tony’s non-appearance. Obadiah rose from his chair and proceeded through the crowd to the podium where he takes the award from Rhodey, thanking the Colonel.**

**Rhodey mutters quietly: “Thanks for the save.”**

**Obadiah turns to the audience as they continue to clap. He pointed out he wasn’t Tony Stark, but if he was Tony, he would feel honoured and what a joy it would be to receive such a prestigious award. He said the best thing about Tony was also his worst thing, as he was always working.**

Tony winced again. He was certain the criticism was about to come again as soon as they saw what he was up to instead of being at the award ceremony.

“I’ll take a guess. Stark isn’t working. He’ll be slacking,” interjected Clint nastily.

He was proven right seconds later as the scene changed to **Tony gambling, surrounded by beautiful women as he threw dice across a table. He head-butted his bodyguard, Happy Hogan’s, shoulder softly before turning round to flirt with the women surrounding him, declaring they should stay till morning.**

**Rhodey appeared from behind him, commenting that he was unbelievable.**

“I don’t want to hear it, Rogers!” Tony said.

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” Steve replied.

“Sure you weren’t…” Tony rolled his eyes.

**Tony asked Rhodey if he had been roped into this. Rhodey replied no one had and Tony apologised.**

“No, you’re not,” interjected Wanda. “You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

 _That may have been true then, but it does not apply now,_ Tony had to remind himself.

**Rhodey started to explain that he had been told Tony would be deeply honoured if Rhodey was the one to present him with the award, but Tony interrupted that he would be deeply honoured that it was him and asked when would he do it.**

**Rhodey held up the trophy. “It’s right here. There you go.”**

Tony turned to face Rhodey. “I really am sorry about that…”

A slight smile tugged at Rhodey’s face. “I know. But, back then, you didn’t really care. Who you are now is someone who would care.”

“Thanks,” whispered Tony quietly.

**Tony is slightly distracted by the game but noticed the award. “There it is. That was easy.” Tony looked Rhodey in the eye. “I’m so sorry.”**

**“Yeah, it’s okay.”**

“Not at the time it wasn’t,” said Rhodey.

**Tony returned his concentration back to the game. He handed the award to one of the girls, picks up the dice and throws in a few chips.**

**Rhodey is looking at the girl now holding the award, and Tony holds out his hand with the dice in towards her, asking her to give him a hand. The girl blew air on Tony’s fingers and he turned to Rhodey, telling him to do so as well.**

**“I don’t blow on a man’s dice.”**

**Tony was very persuasive.**

**Rhodey swatted Tony’s hand away forcing him to throw the dice into play.**

**“There it is! Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls in!”**

“Bad roll,” commented Sam as the dealer on-screen revealed the result of the disastrous throw-in.

**Rhodey shrugged. “That’s what happens.”**

**“Worse things have happened,” said Tony. “I think we’re gonna be fine. Colour me up, will you?”**

**Tony was now walking out of the casino. Rhodey shakes his hand, telling Tony he would have to leave and warning his friend not to be late tomorrow.**

“I can be such a dick,” murmured Tony. He’d been late, left Rhodey standing there waiting for him for three hours. He was sure Rogers and co. would give him flack for that too.

**“Yeah, you can count on it.”**

**“I’m serious!” Rhodey said.**

**Tony walks away. “I know. I know.”**

“You’re going to be late, aren’t you,” accused Steve.

“Of course, he will,” hissed Wanda. “Stark only cares about himself.”

Tony decided not to react. _Let them stay in their bubble._ He knew who he was.

**Tony walked through a couple having their photo taken, interrupting the shot.**

Steve tutted.

“Did you not see them?” asked Bruce quietly, aware of the hate simmering in the room for Tony.

Tony shook his head. “I did. I just didn’t care at the time…” He hated admitting it. If these movies were supposed to show the others who he really was, it was doing a damn good job of not doing it.

Bruce frowned but didn’t make any further comment.

**Tony handed the Apogee Award to one of the people in the photo as he passed them.**

**Outside, Tony walks to his car, escorted by a plethora of bodyguards. A woman’s voice called out his name. She was a blonde woman, holding up her hands as a security agent barred her way. “Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair Magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?”**

**Tony paused at the car door. He asked Happy if she was alright and Happy replied that she was cute. Tony turned to face her, putting a broad smile on his face. “Hi!”**

**Christine queried if it was okay to ask him questions.**

**Tony stepped towards her, verifying he was good for questions.**

**Christine pulled a recorder out. She asked him that he had been called the Da Vinci of our time and what does he say to that?**

“There is no way you are the Da Vinci of our time,” said Steve. “He was a great artist. You’re…”

“The best at everything he does,” defended Rhodey. “Whether you like it or not, Steve, Tony is lauded for being one of the best inventors in the world. It’s thanks to him the world has advanced so much in the last decade.”

“It’s also thanks to him that my parents are dead!” retorted Wanda angrily.

Tony rolled his eyes. When was she going to realise that the designer/manufacturer of the weapons was not responsible for how they were used? If it hadn’t of been his weapons, it would have been someone else’s! She wouldn’t even attempt to listen if he tried to explain it to her.

**“Absolutely ridiculous. I don’t paint,” replied onscreen Tony.**

**Christine asked him about his other nickname, the Merchant of Death.**

**“That’s not bad.”**

“No, it’s bad,” said Tony. “When you have your eyes opened to the reality of what your product has been doing, you realise why that particular moniker was applied to me in the first place.”

Steve glanced at him curiously.

**Tony studied her, guessing the university she went to had been Berkley. She corrected him that it was Brown. Tony called her ‘Ms Brown’ and explained the world was imperfect but it was the only one they had. He guaranteed the day weapons were no longer needed to keep the peace, was the day he would start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals. Christine wasn’t impressed and queried whether he had rehearsed that much.**

**Tony eyed her. “Every day in front of the mirror before bedtime.”**

**“I can see that.”**

**“I’d like to show you first hand.”**

Rhodey put his face in his hands. “You were just looking for the next squeeze.”

Tony shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. “I was.”

“Disgusting,” sniffed Steve, the ooze of displeasure dripping out of his voice.

The looks of the others only made Tony feel worse.

**Christine wanted a serious answer.**

**Tony obliged. “Okay, here’s serious. My old man had a philosophy. ‘Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy’.”**

**“That’s a great line coming from the guy selling the sticks,” accused Christine.**

**Tony explained his father had helped to defeat the Nazi’s, had worked on the Manhattan Project, and that a lot of people, including her Professors at Brown would call that being a hero.**

**“And a lot of people would also call that war profiteering,” countered back Christine.**

“I can’t believe Howard would really say that,” said Steve. “You must have heard him wrong.” He was so sure of himself.

“You hardly knew my father. I had him for nearly two decades. I think I’m better placed to know what my father once said,” retorted Tony. How could Rogers believe Howard Stark had not changed? Experiences changed people, sometimes for the worse, but mostly for the best. Tony’s own experiences had shown him how small his own bubble had been. Now it had widened to encompass the whole world.

**Tony removed his glasses. “Tell me, do you plan to report on the millions we’ve saved by advancing medical technology or kept from starvation with our Intelli-crops? All those breakthroughs, military funding honey.” Tony slightly smiled.**

**Christine asked him if he had ever lost an hour of sleep his whole life.**

As Tony said “Yes,”, Steve said “No”, prompting the two to glare at one another.

**“I’m prepared to lose a few with you.”**

**Christine looked shocked and the next scene showed Tony and Christine kissing passionately on the bed, half-naked with Christine on top, straddling Tony. He rolled them off the bed. She exclaimed as they hit the floor with Tony laughing out loud.**

“Did we have to see that?” asked Sam. “I hope these movies are not filled with your conquests.”

“Urgh, who’d want to sleep with him?” Wanda shot Tony a hateful look.

Clint shuddered. “No one. He’s delusional. No one is capable of loving him. I’m not convinced Potts really does. I mean, he promoted her to CEO, probably because she wouldn’t sleep with him whilst he was her boss.”

Rhodey had to lay a hand on Tony’s arm. “They know nothing, Tony,” he whispered quietly. “Pepper loves you. Don’t forget that.” Rhodey glared at Clint who stubbornly ignored him, not caring how his words had hurt Tony deeply. 

Tony bit his lower lip, resisting the temptation to fight back. If he did, things would only get worse. The movie had only been on for a few minutes and he was already being accosted and insulted. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to cope with a further eight movies.

 _This sucks._

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> Wanda and Clint are going to be quite against Tony. Steve is conflicted. 
> 
> Not every character will say something every chapter. I am trying to work out which characters would react to what and how they would. Vision is probably the character who will say the least. 
> 
> Clint's line where he says: "The day Stark puts his life on the line is the day I’ll bow in honour of him, which will never happen.” is in reference to the deleted scene from Avengers: Endgame where the Avengers bow to Tony after he's sacrificed himself. This is instigated by Clint. I probably will not be including deleted scenes however I do intend to include this bowing scene when they watch Endgame. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted next Sunday...
> 
> Until then,  
> the-writer1988


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony in Afghanistan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for your continued support of this story.

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Three**

**Christine lay on the bed. She woke sharply as a male computer voice echoed out into the bedroom, informing her it was 7 am, that the weather in Malibu was 72 degrees with scattered clouds. The window panes panned around to show the morning sky. The voice continued to explain that the surf conditions were fair with waist-to-shoulder high waves and that high tide would be at precisely 10:52 am. Christine got up from the bed, holding the covers to her body. She looked out of the window and the camera panned backward revealing Tony’s cliffside mansion overlooking the coast.**

“Look what you can get when you have money…” muttered Clint.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Barton, but how many acres do you own on _your_ farmland which SHIELD fund for you?” said Rhodey, rolling his eyes. “Do you pay for any of it?”

Clint opened his mouth to reply but Steve stepped in.

“Don’t. You’ve worked hard for what you’ve got, Clint.”

“And Mr. Stark hasn’t?” queried Vision.

“Seriously, what did happen?” asked Bruce. “What have we missed whilst we were gone? Clint, you’ve never been this hostile to Tony before.”

“It is sad to see all of you at each other’s throats,” observed Thor.

“You weren’t there when he sent us to prison!” grated Barton, glaring at Tony.

Tony gritted his teeth, crunching his knuckles together. “I’m not the one who broke the Accords and refused to compromise. Why else do you think I’m allowed to operate, Barton? And, whilst we’re at it, you chose to retire.” 

“Prison…?” Bruce looked shocked.

Tony sighed. “Look. It’s all explained. Probably in this ‘Civil War’ movie. Make your own mind up when you see what happened.”

Bruce nodded, but he did look worried when Clint shot Tony another nasty glare again before returning his attention back to the screen.

**Christine walked through Tony’s house, wearing one of his shirts. She was calling for him but there was no answer. She inspected the paintings on the wall and then turned her attention to a thermostat on the wall. She tried to turn it but the noise from it caused Christine to jump back as the same voice told her she was not authorised to enter the area.**

**A voice from behind her said: “That’s JARVIS. He runs the house.”**

“Pepper…” Tony sighed. The others probably didn’t know they were engaged to be married yet.

**Pepper Potts is standing behind Christine, carrying her dry-cleaned clothes on a hanger for her. She was wearing a black suit with high heels and her hair tied behind her back. Pepper explained her clothes had been dry-cleaned and pressed and that there was a car waiting for her outside that would take her anywhere she would like to go. Christine hastened her composure and approached Pepper.**

**“You must be the famous Pepper Potts.”**

**Pepper looked modest. “Indeed I am.”**

**Christine took the clothes from her, hanging it over her shoulder, smirking at Pepper, commenting that after all these years, Tony still has her picking up the dry cleaning.**

**Pepper maintained a sweet smile as she retorted: “I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires, including, occasionally, taking out the trash. Will that be all?”**

Everyone howled at Pepper’s burn, even Wanda.

“She’s a fiery one, definitely knows how to talk back!” hooted Sam, laughing.

“I like her,” grinned Bucky.

“And that’s why she can handle Tony!” pointed out Rhodey. “She takes no shit from him.”

“Pepper has been good for me,” admitted Tony quietly so that only Rhodey could hear.

“She has. And I’m glad you finally popped the question. You two have been dancing around one another long enough,” replied Rhodey.

**Loud rock music blared out as Tony worked on a piece of equipment. He looked at the monitor, asking for an exploded view. JARVIS complied and explained that the compression in cylinder three appears to be low. Tony wanted him to log it and kept on working as Pepper, on the phone, entered the workshop. The music stopped and Tony told her to not turn down his music.**

**Pepper told him he was supposed to be half-way around the world right now.**

Steve rolled his eyes. “Knew it.”

“Doesn’t respect anyone,” muttered Wanda under her breath.

**Pepper was writing things down on a pad as Tony asked how Christine took her dismissal. Pepper said like a champ and Tony picks up a piece of equipment, accusing Pepper of trying to hassle him out of here. Pepper bit back that his plan was supposed to leave an hour and a half ago.**

**Tony was kneeling in front of his hot-rod car. “That’s funny. I thought, with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there.”**

“He does have a point,” said Natasha reasonably. “But even private planes have to file flight plans and take off on time. You can’t just do things when you want, Tony.”

“I don’t do that anymore,” noted Tony quietly. He was a lot more responsible with his times now.

“The Accords situation showed otherwise,” commented Wanda viciously.

“Says the woman who decided to do what she wanted against the wishes of the world,” Tony replied, giving her a sweeping look. “And who pushed Vision down through several floors because he was trying to keep you safe? Not me.”

Wanda’s fingers glowed red but her powers did not manifest. 

“Wanda, don’t,” advised Steve.

She looked like she wanted to argue back but Steve’s continuing glare kept her silent.

**Pepper needed to speak to Tony about a couple of things before he left. She looked stressed. Tony asked her if she thought it defeated the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departed before he could get there. He stood up and Pepper continued that Harry had been on the phone and he had another buyer for the Jackson Pollock painting. He wanted to know if Tony wanted it or not. Tony asked Pepper if it was a good representation of his spring period. Pepper believed not as it was a painting of the neighbourhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not like the season ‘spring’. She went on to add that she thought it was a fair example but it was incredibly overpriced.**

**As soon as heard those words, Tony said: “I need it. Buy it. Store it.”**

“You didn’t buy it because you really wanted it, you bought it because it was expensive,” stated Clint, looking a bit disgusted over how Tony spent his money. “No thought for others who might appreciate the art and want to display it correctly.”

Tony hated seeing his younger self. He’d been a jerk, buying things because he could, not because he wanted them. Pepper had spent years curating their art collection and he’d thrown it away without considering how much time and effort she’d put into it. “Remember, Barton, this isn’t who I am now.”

“Could have fooled us,” snarled Barton, turning his nose up.

Tony sighed. He didn’t think this would work. They’d still hate him.

**Pepper started to mention the MIT commencement speech but Tony spoke over her, telling her not to harangue him about that stuff as it was in June. Pepper said they were haranguing her and told him she would say yes to that invitation. Tony told her to deflect and absorb it and to not transmit it back to him. Pepper handed him some papers, asking him to sign them before he got on the plane. Tony wanted to know why she was trying to get rid of him and queried if she had any plans.**

**Pepper held out a pen to Tony, telling him that she did have plans. He retorted that he didn’t like it when she had plans. Pepper shook her head slightly. She told him it was her birthday and she was allowed to have plans on it.**

**“It’s your birthday?” Tony asked.**

**“Yes,” she clarified.**

**“I knew that. Already?”**

Wanda scoffed.

“Dude, you didn’t know her birthday? How long has she worked for you for?” Sam looked astonished.

“Of course, he wouldn’t know. He only cares about himself,” sniffed Wanda.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know her birthday…” breathed Steve.

“If it helps, I don’t know when Rhodey’s birthday is either and I’ve known him longer then Pepper,” interjected Tony, hoping to defuse the criticism.

“It is a known factor, geniuses can be forgetful of simple everyday things which you feel they should know, Captain,” answered Vision. “Your criticism of Mr. Stark is unwarranted in this case.”

The others fell silent and Tony sent him a grateful smile.

**Pepper said her birthday was the same day last year. Tony told her to get herself something nice from him.**

“You let her buy stuff for herself with your money?” asked Steve, surprised.

“Yes. Got a problem with that, Rogers?” shirked Tony.

Steve shook his head. “No… its nice of you.”

Tony wanted to bite back a reply but decided not to make a snarky comment.

**Pepper explained she had already got herself something. Tony wanted to know more and she clarified that it was very nice and very tasteful. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.” Tony smiled at her, his eyes shining brightly. “You’re welcome, Miss Potts.”**

“She was the only PA you never slept with, wasn’t she?” asked Bruce.

Tony looked a bit wary of the question. “Yes… why?”

“But he did sleep with her!” interjected Wanda. “He was clearly flirting with her! He let her use his money!”

Tony control broke and he stood up. “Let me make this clear to you, Wanda, Pepper and I never slept together until after she was CEO and I’d stepped down. We’d been dancing around one another for years before we finally got together. Letting her use my money to buy herself nice things is no indication that we slept together. I trusted Pepper to have my back. My love for her grew from mutual admiration and long-term friendship. What I feel for Pepper is real.”

“I can confirm the truth in what Mr. Stark is saying. I retain JARVIS’s memories. Wanda, perhaps you should consider you are wrong,” suggested Vision.

Wanda glared but didn’t reply. Tony took it as a small victory.

Thor cast his gaze over his companions. “I really feel myself and Bruce are missing something. I’m not sure we can wait to see what happened.”

“It’s best if you do,” said Natasha, attempting to be neutral. “Make up your own mind. I worry if anyone of us attempted to tell you, our views would be skewed towards our own personal opinion.”

The others mutually agreed.

**Tony signed the papers Pepper had offered to him and drank the coffee before handing the cup to Pepper.**

**The scene changed to a white Audi speeding down the road, followed by a black car driven by Happy. The Audi races into Stark Industries landing field and Tony comes to a stop by a light SI jet. Rhodey was standing at the top of the boarding stairs. Happy drew up next to Tony and as the billionaire exited his car, he told Happy that he was good and he’d thought he’d lost him back there. Happy confirmed that he had and he’d needed to cut across Mulholland to catch up.**

“You like your speed?” asked Bucky. “Racing cars?”

Tony shrugged. “Habit. I had the money. I could buy myself out of prison or any tickets.” He scratched the back of his head. “Which is wrong,” he added as a way to avoid the others being given another excuse to yell at him.

**Rhodey yelled at him from the top of the stairs to the plane asking him what was wrong with him, and that he was three hours late.**

“Three hours?” Steve shook his head. “Geeze, Tony!”

“I wasn’t happy about it,” said Rhodey.

“That’s obvious,” commented Wanda sarcastically.

**Tony said he had got caught doing a piece of Vanity Fair.**

He winced at the easy lie he had told. Tony recognised he had been a jerk. Sex had been more important to him than having an early night and turning up on time. He simply hadn’t cared. _I’m a better person now._

**Tony ran up the stairs and passed Rhodey, telling him they were now waiting on him. The pilot was given the go ahead to prepare the plane for flight. Rhodey followed in behind Tony.**

**There was a shot of the plane flying in the air. Tony and Rhodey were sitting at a table being served by blonde stewardesses, who smiles seductively at Tony and he watches on as she walks away.**

Tony felt ashamed of how he had taken these women for granted.

“They're not just cabin crew… are they?” asked Steve.

Tony bowed his head. “No. They’re not.”

“Yuck.” Wanda’s eyes lowered.

“You slept with them?” probed Steve.

Tony’s expression said it all. They were making him feel worse than he already did. “They agreed. I never forced anyone to have sex with me. The cabin crew did it of their own violation if I wanted it. It’s shitty behaviour and I shouldn’t have done it. What you’re about to see happen in Afghanistan changed me. But I’m sure you’ll still think little of me.”

“Oh, we will,” Wanda tilted her head to the side. “I’ve seen nothing yet which makes me change my mind.” 

**Tony asked Rhodey what he was reading. The Colonel replied with nothing and Tony told him not to be mad. Rhodey stated he wasn’t mad; he was just indifferent. Tony said he had apologised.**

“The difference there, Tony, is that you weren’t really sorry. This was common behaviour for you,” pointed out Rhodey, sighing. “And I let you get away with it. I could have been a better friend and made you realise how wrong this was. But you were the type of person who did what you wanted on your own terms. You still do… but you are a lot more considerate of other people then you had been before.”

Tony nodded, accepting Rhodey’s criticism. He could recognise how he had taken his friends for granted. Afghanistan had opened his eyes, not just to how he was seen within the weapon’s industry, but to what he would leave behind when he died and how he would be remembered. He cast a glance at Wanda. He knew she would still hate him. Nothing could realistically change her mind about him.

**The Air Hostess arrived and smiled at Tony. Rhodey reiterated that Tony didn’t need to apologise and that he was Tony’s man. Tony explained to the Air Hostess that he was sorry as the Hostess handed him a napkin.**

**Rhodey looked like he’d had enough of Tony’s sass. “You don’t respect yourself, so I know you don’t respect me.”**

**Tony said he did. But Rhodey explained he was just Tony’s babysitter, that when he needed his diaper changed to let him know and he’d get him a bottle. Rhodey picked up the cloth the Air Hostess had handed him and cleaned his hands. She tried to hand him a drink but he refused as they were working, though Tony accepted his own drink.**

**“You are constitutionally incapable of being responsible.”**

“So true,” agreed Wanda. “Stark has always been irresponsible.”

“The Ultron fiasco is a good example of how irresponsible he is,” quipped Clint.

Tony sighed. He may have argued back however there was no point, not when both Wanda and Clint had already made up their minds about him.

**Tony stated it would be irresponsible not to drink and all he had been talking about was a nightcap. The Hostess offered a Hot Sake, and Tony said yes to two of them though Rhodey tried to say no.**

**The scene changed to Tony and Rhodey holding drinks. It was clear Rhodey was drunk. Music blared in the background.**

“Wow,” whistled Steve. “You let him get to you.”

Rhodey winced. Tony had always been good at getting him to drink when he didn’t want to.

“Drink doesn’t repair everything,” sighed Tony. “This was my life back then. It isn’t now.”

Sam peered at Tony curiously. “Are you sure about that, Stark?”

“When was the last time Tony was papped stumbling out of a club, or at a party or with his next conquest?” put in Bruce. “Can you name when?”

The other Avengers exchanged careful looks before admitting they couldn’t. “No,” answered Steve, answering for everyone.

“Just because Stark doesn’t participate in that type of behaviour now doesn’t mean he’s changed,” sniffed Wanda.

Clint agreed.

Tony shook his head in despair. Even though it was obvious he’d changed, the others were still not willing to admit it.

**Rhodey was talking about how when he puts on his uniform in the morning, he recognises that everyone in that uniform has his back. Tony said he wasn’t like Rhodey. The camera pulled back to show flashing lights as the Air Hostesses danced sexily around a pole. Rhodey told Tony he didn’t have to be like him, only to be more than what he was. Tony’s eyes were on the scantily clad girls and he admitted he was a bit distracted by the three dancing girls. Rhodey told him he couldn’t be distracted right now but Tony took another sip of drink and continued to watch the girls dance.**

“Sorry.”

“Tony, unlike the rest of them,” Rhodey referred to the others on Steve’s side, “I recognise you have changed. This you, we’re seeing on screen is not the one who became Iron Man. You have become more than what you are. You are a hero. It doesn’t matter what they think, it matters how the world views you. And you are a hero to them.”

Tony was grateful for Rhodey’s support.

Wanda looked like she was about to say something back but Steve shook his head, urging her to keep her opinions to herself. 

**The scene changed to Tony arriving in Afghanistan, walking down the steps and towards the General, shaking his hand. The General was looking forward to his weapon’s demonstration.**

**Now Tony was standing in front of an array of mountains, facing the US army.**

**“Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries Freedom Line.”**

“Freedom line?” Steve gasped. “Really, Tony?”

Tony muttered under his breath. “I knew you’d pick up on that.”

**“It’s the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. They say the best weapons are ones your never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That’s how Dad did it. That’s how America does it. And it’s worked out pretty well so far. Find an excuse,” Tony raises his left arm to indicate a missile launcher stacked with three missiles, “to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won’t ever want to come out of their caves.” He indicated for the demonstration to begin.**

**Army heads turn as the missile launcher raises and fires the left one, flying over the landscape and breaking apart in flight, shooting little missiles as they pulled away from the main framework. Tony begins to raise his arms in a god-like pose.**

Steve rolled his eyes and Wanda scoffed.

Clint coughed. “Full of himself!”

“Ignore them,” whispered Rhodey.

**“For your consideration: the Jericho!” Tony decreed.**

**The missiles hit the mountain range behind him, sending out a massive explosion. Dust and wind blew Tony forward a few steps and the hats fly of the heads of the soldiers as the wind from the explosion buffeted them.**

Tony winced at his tactics, not liking how he had performed for the crowd. It was expected of him. He had a media personality. Pepper and Rhodey were a few of the only people who truly knew the real Tony Stark.

**Tony opened a case with glasses and champagne. He said he would be throwing one of these in with every purchase of five hundred million or more. He raised his glass and toasted to peace. Tony looked at his phone as it rang and saw Obie’s face. Tony answered and asked him what he was doing up.**

**Obadiah explained he couldn’t sleep until he found out how it went. Tony reassured him it went great and that it would be an early Christmas. Tony started to walk towards the Humvee. Obadiah congratulated him and said he would see him tomorrow.**

“No, he won’t,” said Tony quietly. He wished he had been more open-minded, and recognised the signs Obadiah had been given for a long time.

**Tony asked Obadiah why he wasn’t wearing the pyjamas he got him. Obadiah told him goodnight and ended the call as a soldier opened the door to the Humvee for Tony. Rhodey walked up as Tony moved to sit in the Humvee. Tony stopped Rhodey from joining him.**

**“I’m sorry, this is the ‘fun-vee’.” Tony leaned out the window. “The ‘hum-drum-vee’ is back there.”**

“Rude,” commented Sam. “You could give him more respect. He’s supposed to be your friend.”

Even Tony could see the way he treated Rhodey was awful.

“You should be more respectful of Earth’s warriors, Stark!” deemed Thor.

Tony decided not to reply. He didn’t want to defend himself as there was nothing to defend against it. He’d been such a dick to Rhodey, he was surprised the man still wanted to be friends with him.

**Rhodey said he would see Tony back at the base as Tony began to drink and the Humvee drove off.**

**There was a rapid flashing off images streaming across the screen. Blurry images of a cave. Tony being operated on and held down, screaming, blood covered his chest, and something round and metallic was being placed in his chest, before a shot of a hand covering Tony’s mouth appears. Tony went limp.**

“What the hell was that!” yelled Bucky.

Tony sighed, shifted on his seat so Bucky could see him. “I was dying. They had to put a magnet in my chest to stop pieces of shrapnel from piercing my heart. I was awake for it, as you saw.”

Bucky looked white, but his hands were clenched tightly together. Tony could understand, the Super Soldier had been tortured too and what he saw happening to Tony reminded him of his own torture.

“It still… haunts me,” admitted Tony.

Steve lowered his head. “Sorry, Tony. We didn’t know.”

“No, you didn’t,” replied Tony.

“It wasn’t in your file either,” added Steve. “Why not? Fury gave it to me. All it said was you were kidnapped in Afghanistan and was missing for three months and created the Arc Reactor there.”

Tony folded his arms across his chest. “That’s because I edited the file and removed all mention of what happened there. I didn’t want anyone to ever find out.” He swept his arm out in front of him. “But, no choice now. You’ll see what really happened.”

“Why did they kidnap you?” asked Thor. “Are they still alive? I could destroy them-”

Tony raised his hand. “Thor. I dealt with them. The ones that hurt me are dead.”

“Good.” Thor sounded pleased. “Anyone who dares to hurt one of my teammates will not live past the wrath of Thor.”

Steve winced at the words

Tony wondered what Thor’s reaction would be when he saw Steve beating Tony to a bloodied pulp. Was Thor aware he had strangled Tony too? He wasn’t going to bring it up. He’d wait to see Thor’s reaction.

**Tony wakes up with a tube up his nose. He started to pull out the line, yanking off the tape over his nose.**

Clint shuddered. “Ew. Not nice.”

**He saw a glass of water on a cabinet next to him and he reached out for it, but his fingers missed and he fell to the floor. He was parched. Coughing from the effort, Tony saw a man on the other side of the cave, humming and shaving in a mirror.**

“Yinsen,” said Tony softly. All these years later he still mourned the man’s loss. Yinsen should have lived. He was just one of the few people who Tony had failed to save. “His name is Yinsen.”

**Tony rolled to the left to reach for something and he noticed a tug at his chest. Yinsen said he wouldn’t do that if he were Tony. This prompted Tony to look down at his chest and he saw wires which led to a car battery. The two wires led directly into his chest. Panic rising, Tony could feel something metallic underneath the bandages wrapped around his chest. Pulling them off he saw there was a metal plating attached with wires that were embedded into the centre of his chest. He was in shock, his breathing louder than normal.**

“That’s what they did to you,” mentioned Bruce quietly.

Tony nodded solemnly. “And hooked up to a car battery to keep me running.”

Steve was shaking his head in shock. “That’s… horrible. What they did to you…”

Wanda sneered. “Stark deserved it.”

Tony was surprised by how quickly Thor reacted. The God of Thunder had risen from his chair, and stalked towards Wanda with a furious look on his face. “How dare you say that about Stark!”

Wanda shrunk back as Clint tried to protect her.

“She didn’t mean it!” Clint said. “Did you?” He shot Wanda a look.

“No.” Wanda grated the word through her teeth.

Tony was sure she didn’t mean it but he felt compelled to speak up but it was something that had to be said, to try to clear the air between himself and Wanda. “Wanda, I didn’t kill your parents.” He’d kept quiet, not wanting to pull apart her logic in front of the others.

“Yes, you did!” Wanda replied.

“Wait, is that why you don’t like Tony?” Rhodey queried, watching the younger woman carefully. “Because you believe he killed your parents?”

“It was his missile. His name on the bomb,” stated Wanda. “He killed them.”

Rhodey sat back, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.” He couldn’t believe how naïve Wanda really was. Surely, she knew that just because someone’s name was painted on the side of a bomb, did not make one directly responsible for the tragedy that occurs from it. 

Bruce was about to speak when Tony began first.

“Wanda, I’m not even going to attempt to explain things to you. I know you wouldn’t believe me.” Tony wasn’t going to waste his breath trying to convince her unless there was a chance, she might believe it. Right now, she was not in the right frame of mind. “Let’s just continue. Thor, sit down.”

The God of Thunder returned to his seat though he had been suitably ruffled by Wanda’s comments about Tony.

**Later, Yinsen is stirring food in a pan as Tony looks at the chest piece via a small mirror. Tony wanted to know what the man had done to him.**

**Yinsen chuckled. “What I did is to save your life.”**

Tony smiled sadly. “I’m glad he did.”

Rhodey grabbed his shoulder, knocking him gently. “We all are.”

Tony doubted Wanda did but wisely kept silent.

**Tony studied the home-made magnet, absorbing the information the man continued to impart about the operation he had carried out on Tony. The man had removed all the shrapnel he could but there was still a lot left and heading to his atrial septum. He asked Tony if wanted to see the shards which were stored in a glass bottle. He threw it to Tony who caught it and brought it up to his eyeline. He could see the tiny metal fragments inside it.**

**“I’ve seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs.”**

Sam cringed. “Ouch. Not a nice way to go.”

**Tony asked what was in his chest. His companion explained that it was an electromagnet hooked up to a car battery and it was keeping the shrapnel from entering his heart. Tony zipped up his jacket, not wanting to look at it anymore.**

“Glad I don’t have it anymore,” said Tony. “That thing was a killer on my lung capacity.”

“I always meant to ask, why did you not have it removed earlier?” asked Bruce. “You could have had it taken out when you returned home.”

“I investigated. The top heart-surgeon in the world could not operate,” explained Tony. “I had to wait for technology to move on before it was possible.” The only reason Tony had been able to remove his Arc Reactor completely was because of the invention of Extremis. The risks of the operation decreased with Extremis and Tony had managed to stabilise it for general use, though it was not available on the market. It was a substance that could easily be used for evil despite its good qualities. “I had to learn to live with it.” He held a hand up to his chest. “Chronic chest pain every day is hard to live with.”

“You never said,” Steve told him. “Why?”

Tony threw him a look. “I don’t trust easily.”

“But since you had it removed, you’re alright?” asked Sam.

Tony nodded. “Yes. But the fear is still there.”

The shield slamming down on his chest… He’d had nightmares about that. Steve bashing his chest in with incredible force. He’d been lucky to survive. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

**Tony noticed a camera in the corner of the cave. Yinsen told him to smile and turned back to cooking. He explained to Tony that they had met once, at a technical conference in Bern. Tony didn’t remember.**

Wanda rolled her eyes.

“Too drunk I bet,” stated Clint harshly.

Tony couldn’t argue with that. His lifestyle back then had been one of party, party, party! He simply hadn’t cared. Nowadays he was a changed man. He still remembered Yinsen. He would never forget him.

**The man continued and said if he had been that drunk, he wouldn’t have been able to stand much less give a lecture on integrated circuits.**

“Wait. You were drunk and still managed to do a lecture?” Bruce looked surprised.

“If you recall I did tell you about this…” pointed out Tony.

Bruce winced. “I…

“Was asleep. I know. Through the whole time I was talking to you about it,” said Tony. In hindsight, Bruce hadn’t been the correct person to talk to.

“Ah, you hold your liquor well, my friend!” crowed Thor. “We shall have to have a drinking game!”

Tony eyed the God of Thunder warily. He doubted he would win at one. Thor’s drinking ability clearly outdid his own. “I think I’ll pass.”

He saw Clint about to make a comment but Steve’s glare silenced the archer.

**Tony asked Yinsen where they were but before he could answer, they heard voices from behind the large bolted door. A peephole slit opened and a man spoke Arabic through it.**

**Urging Tony to stand up, his companion told him to do as he did, and they both put their hands behind their heads.**

**The door opened and several men walk into the cave, carrying guns.**

**“Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?” Tony whispered, shock rattling through him.**

“You didn’t know?” Bucky observed quietly.

Tony shook his head. “No. How they got my weapons had nothing to do with me, albeit I should have realised what was going on long before now if I’d had my eyes open instead of closed. This is what I mean by Afghanistan changed me.”

**The man in the centre of the group moves forward, raising his arms happily and speaks in Arabic, gesturing to Tony. Yinsen translated. Their captor welcomed Tony, who to them was the most famous mass-murderer in the history of America. They were honoured and they wanted him to build the missile. The Jericho missile that Tony had demonstrated.**

**They passed Yinsen a photo who showed it to Tony.**

“That’s what they wanted,” said Steve. “The missile?”

“They did.”

“Please tell me you didn’t…” Steve looked horrified.

Tony was about to reply when Wanda interjected: “He will. Stark only cares about profit, not other people’s lives.”

Gritting his teeth, Tony was slowly losing patience with Wanda.

“How many people here actually believe Tony would betray his country like that?” asked Rhodey, leaning forward and focusing his gaze upon Team Cap.

Both Wanda and Clint raised their hands. Steve tried to look suitably ashamed but it was clear what his thoughts were. He actually had considered Tony would build a weapon of mass-destruction for terrorists?

“Wow.” Rhodey couldn’t believe it. “Thought you’d know your own team-mate better, Barton.”

“He’s not my team-mate,” stated Clint.

Tony laid a hand on Rhodey’s shoulder. “Don’t bother. They want to believe it. Let them.”

**Tony looked at the photo, then back at his captor. He said two words. “I refuse.”**

“Oh, thank god,” said Steve, relieved.

“It’s not over yet, Cap,” pointed out Clint. “He’s not even been there for three months. He said no now but it doesn’t mean he won’t say yes.”

**The scene changed abruptly and suddenly Tony’s head was being forced and held underwater.**

**He was being waterboarded.**

**They pulled him back up for a gasp of air before thrusting his head back down into the bucket of water, drowning him.**

Thor was up from his seat again but Bruce pulled him down. He grumbled but acquiesced.

Bucky’s arm was twitching. 

“Buck, are you alright?” Steve whispered. “I know this might bring back some bad memories–”

Bucky cut him off. “I’m not the one you should be comforting.” He indicated Tony who was sitting at the end of the left sofa, his face white. “This clearly traumatises him too. Perhaps give him some compassion instead of putting him down all the time? I killed his parents, Steve.”

“But that wasn’t-”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s supposed to be your friend. Start acting like one.”

Rhodey noticed Tony’s white and stock posture. “Tones? Anything I can do?”

The inventor silently shook his head, his eyes never leaving the screen as he watched his own torture.

**The Reactor in Tony’s chest sparked.**

Thor roared but didn’t try to move.

**Pepper’s voice echoed in Tony’s head. “Tony!”**

“You heard her voice,” murmured Rhodey.

Tony nodded weakly. “That was… when I knew I loved her. Out of everyone in the world who I’ve met, my thoughts then were for only one person. Pepper. She’s my rock.”

Steve listened quietly but made no comment.

**A bald man watches Tony’s torture. The terrorists pull Tony away from the bucket, yelling the word ‘Jericho’ over and over again. They pull a sack over his head and pushed and pulled him until they were stepping out from the cave into the daylight. Tony held the battery in his hands and the sack was pulled off, the bright sunlight hurting his eyes.**

**They were deep in the mountains. Tony’s guard pushes him forward and he stumbles, managing to regain his balance. As they walked into the camp, they could see boxes upon boxes of Stark Industries weapons. The whole camp was full of them.**

“See!” Wanda pointed out vehemently. “Your weapons! Your name! You sold them!”

Sam looked at Wanda, worried by her words. “But he was surprised they had his weapons, Wanda. Come on, be reason-”

“Stark is a good actor. He knows when to fake his emotions,” stated Wanda, folding her arms across her chest.

Vision leaned forward. “Wanda… I was Mr. Stark’s AI during this time. I can assure you; Mr. Stark may be a good actor at hiding his true façade, but he is not faking now.”

Wanda bit her lower lip and said no more.

**They stopped in front of the same man Tony had seen earlier, who had made the request for him to build the Jericho, who gestured to Yinsen to translate. The terrorist wanted Tony to know what he thought of their weapon’s stash.**

**Tony thought they had a lot of his weapons. The terrorist continued, explaining they had everything Tony required to build the Jericho missile. They wanted him to take the materials from the weapons they had and for him to start working straight away, and when Tony had finished, they would set him free. The Arabic man held out his hand to Tony who shook it.**

“SEE!” Wanda shouted, jumping from her seat. “I said you’d make them for them! I know you, Stark! And now we all have proof to ruin you!”

Tony raised a single eyebrow at her. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to actually go through with making them the Jericho? Iron Man was born in Afghanistan. What do you think I really built there with those materials?”

“Stark’s right, Wanda,” Clint admitted, though it pained him to do so. “Even I know this is where he created Iron Man. But I don’t believe he didn’t know where his weapons were going to. Stark is the one who said yes to this. He has to placate them somehow otherwise they’ll get too suspicious. He’ll give them something.”

Tony would have congratulated the archer if he hadn’t been so wrong. He had underestimated Clint badly.

 **Tony knew that the terrorist’s definition of being set free would be to kill him. Yinsen smiled too, also agreeing with Tony’s assessment that he wouldn’t be freed. The deal had been made.**

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> Clint and Wanda really do not like Tony... Steve isn't being as hostile as I thought he would be, however Clint and Wanda seem to have more of a beef with Tony which is why a lot of their comments seem to be quite mean. It's all part of the character development they will all go through as they continue to watch the films. 
> 
> The cabin-girls on Tony's flight to Afghanistan... They're not simply cabin girls. I can see Tony being the type who would sleep with them on long journeys, though it is all consensual. 
> 
> I'm also trying to get a lot of reactions from the Avengers, getting them to talk and react properly, as I feel you need to have a lot of discussion between them, in addition to their reactions. 
> 
> Next chapter: Tony escapes. To be posted next Sunday. 
> 
> Until then,  
> the-writer1988


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony builds the first Iron Man suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continual support of this story. 
> 
> I have finished writing out the movie description and scenes for this fic now and I am now going through it and adding in character descriptions. I hope to finish writing this one in the next few days. However, updates will remain weekly as I will be working to keep up with weekly updates with the following stories in this series. I'm hoping I have enough of a backlog that IM2 will be completely prewritten before I finish posting this one.

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Four**

**It was night and Tony and Yinsen were sitting in the cave, a fire burning between them. A beany hat sat on Tony’s head. Yinsen said he was sure they were looking for Stark.**

“I wouldn’t be,” muttered Wanda quietly.

“We were,” confirmed Rhodey, ignoring Wanda’s slight. “Every single day we searched. Any terrorist activity, we investigated. Every day brought us closer to you.”

Tony smiled gratefully. Though he’d escaped on his own, the knowledge that Rhodey had never given up was heartening. At least someone cared. He doubted the Avengers would look for him now if he suddenly disappeared.

_Wanda and Clint would probably throw a party,_ he thought.

**Yinsen explained that they would never find Tony in the mountains. He leaned forward. “Look at what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life’s work in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?”**

“Inspiring,” commented Steve. But his expression fell when Tony’s response didn’t seem to show his enthusiasm.

**“Why should I do anything? They’re going to kill me, you, either way. And if they don’t, I’ll probably be dead in a week.”**

“The electromagnet wouldn’t have lasted much longer past a week,” said Bruce.

“Yinsen would have probably had to operate again if it failed.” Tony sighed quietly. He was sure the Ten Rings would never have let him die until he had given them what they wanted. They would have found a way to keep him alive, even with the limited technology available to them.

Bruce winced at Tony’s words.

**“Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn’t it?”**

“It was.” _The beginning of Iron Man._

**The scene changed to the cave cell bustling with activity. Tony was directing them, very adamant in his manner. He told them he wanted his work station well lit, he needed welding gear and that he didn’t care if it was acetylene or propane. He required a soldering station and helmets and goggles. A smelting cup was needed as well as two sets of precision tools.**

Tony was surprised at the lack of comments by his fellow Avengers.

**Tony was working at a bench, examining the wires of one of the missiles.**

“If they gave you your missiles to take apart, why didn’t you just set them to detonate?” Bucky asked.

“Because it would have killed me too,” pointed out Tony. “Plus, they had me on camera though they didn’t really understand what I was doing. I could have gotten away with it if I’d tried, but I wanted to live.” 

“Sounds fair,” agreed Bucky.

**Tony asked Yinsen how many languages did he speak. Yinsen said a lot but it wasn’t enough for this place as the terrorists spoke multiple languages.**

**Tony pulled something out of the missile and continued his questioning of Yinsen, wanting to know who their captors were and he was informed they were his loyal customers and they called themselves the Ten Rings. Yinsen told Tony that they might be more productive if Tony included him in the planning process. Tony vaguely acknowledged Yinsen’s words.**

“Why are you ignoring him?” asked Bruce.

“Because he’s rude,” sniped Wanda.

“Might have something to do with the fact that I was opening up a highly destructive missile that could have killed me if I’d fumbled with the wrong connections?” Tony quipped back. Her lack of intelligence was beginning to grate on him. Wanda was just looking for ways to put him down.

**Tony drilled on the missile head and pulled off the top, pulling out a circular object and rested it on the table. Using tongs, Tony extracted a very small piece from the object before throwing the rest of it away.**

**“That’s palladium. 0.15 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don’t you break down the other eleven?” asked Tony.**

“That’s why I didn’t answer straight away,” stated Tony, folding his arms across his chest. “Delicate work. Much as I know you’d love to see me die, Wanda…”

“She doesn’t want you dead, Tony,” Steve spoke up in defence of her. “We’re a team, regardless of our individual situations right now.”

Tony looked at Steve incredulously. “Could have fooled me. I’m sure Barton thinks the same. We’re not a team, never have been, not when we allow an outsider to tear us apart from the inside. Want to know why I really walked away from the Avengers, Rogers?” Tony indicated Wanda. “Her. Her joining the team made me walk away.”

“The team doesn’t need you, Stark,” said Wanda twistedly. “It’s better without-”

“Stop it, Wanda!” Steve shouted over her.

“I rest my case.” Tony sat back and refused to meet Steve’s eyes.

**Tony and Yinsen were still being observed by their captors over the feed. Yinsen was holding a cup in some tongs as Tony poured some powder into it. Slowly, the other walked over to the table. Tony was anxious they got this right as they only had one shot of this. Yinsen reassured him that he had steady hands and queried whether Tony knew why he was still alive.**

**Tony walked beside him, clutching the battery in his left arm. Placing it on the table, he watched as Yinsen poured the mixture into the round cup.**

**“What do I call you?” asked Tony.**

**“Yinsen.”**

**“Nice to meet you too.”**

“You never asked him his name until then?” Steve looked horrified. “Why not?”

“Do you think the usual standards of greeting someone new apply when you are in captivity?” snapped Tony, rolling his eyes. “I was rather preoccupied at the time.”

“I would have still asked him his name… He did save your life!” Steve was admonished Tony had not had the courtesy to find out the name of his lifesaver.

Wanda was smirking and Clint was nodding along with everything Steve said, but Sam looked thoughtful, not showing whether he agreed with Tony’s approach or Steve’s.

**Tony sat a desk using a small device to lift a circular ring and placed it on top of another small flat surface, on a metallic object. He welded it, using a battery to power the light in the circular device. A white, bluish light illuminated Tony’s face.**

“The Arc Reactor…” whispered Bruce. “Made from rudimentary materials…”

“Not many people would have been able to do what Tony did,” stated Rhodey. “He could make anything out of nothing.”

**Yinsen leaned down over the desk, amazed at the device. A wire led from Tony’s chest to the battery to the Reactor. He noted that it didn’t look like a Jericho missile.**

**“That’s because it’s a miniaturised Arc Reactor. I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart.”**

“Miniaturising it extended my life expectancy. I wasn’t kept back by the battery Yinsen had used,” explained Tony. “It gave me more freedom to create what I really wanted to.”

“Which was what?” asked Thor.

Tony smirked. “You’ll see.” Thor seemed to not have made the connection that this was where he had created the suit, despite the conversation earlier.

**Yinsen asked what the Arc Reactor could generate. Tony explained that if his math was right, and that it always was, three gigajoules per second. Yinsen theorised that could run his heart for fifty lifetimes. Tony agreed.**

**“Yeah. Or something big for fifteen minutes.”**

“The Iron Man suit,” realised Steve. He’d already known it but seeing Tony’s brilliance at work was truly something to behold.

“The makings of a hero,” said Rhodey.

“The makings of a traitor,” said Clint loudly. Wanda smirked, agreeing with Clint’s assessment.

“Clint,” warned Steve.

**Tony laid out scraps of paper on the table, switching the lamp on. He told Yinsen that this was their ticket out of there. Yinsen flattened them out and looked. He saw the designs for a suit of armour. Yinsen’s face looked amazed and surprised at the same time. “Impressive.”**

“How long did it take to build?” asked Bucky. “You did it all by hand.”

“A few weeks. Nowadays the production of Iron Man suits can be done within an hour,” explained Tony.

“Useful if you know a threat is coming,” said Bruce.

“Exactly why I have a production line ready to go if it is needed. Protecting the Earth is my responsibility,” said Tony. “I know something is coming. If I’m not prepared, we’ll fail.”

“Tony,” Steve spoke quietly. “We’ll do it together.”

“Fail?” queried Natasha.

“Win,” stated Steve. “We won’t lose.”

Tony’s face twitched a bit. “I get the feeling if we’re sitting here doing this, then we lose. Why else would they want us to see the future if we win?”

“Maybe the cost of winning was too high,” observed Vision. “A cost that needs to be prevented.”

“Maybe,” murmured Steve, leaning back on the sofa, returning his gaze to the screen again.

Tony remained thoughtful. Much as he hated them having to go through movies about his own life, the thought had struck him the reason they had to do so, was because they needed to find a way to stop him from doing something incredibly stupid. Why else focus on movies showing Tony only and not the others? In a way, he dreaded the last two movies but it was a long way to go before they got to that point. He shouldn’t need to worry about it now.

**The terrorists were observing Tony and Yinsen on camera. They saw Tony get off the bed and they could see the Arc Reactor shining brightly on his chest, emanating through his clothes.**

**They were playing a game, Yinsen laughing at the good roll. Tony noted Yinsen hadn’t told him where he was from.**

**“I’m from a small town called Gulmira. It’s actually a nice place.”**

“Gulmira… Why does that ring a bell?” queried Sam. “There was something about that place and you…” He pointed to Tony. “What did you do and why do I remember it?”

Tony didn’t reply. They’d find out.

**Tony asked him if he had a family. Yinsen replied that he did and he would see them when he left this place. He asked Tony if he had any family. Tony looks up, his lips twitching as he glanced away, admitting he didn’t have any family.**

“Tony,” began Rhodey, shifting forward on his seat a little. “You do have a family. Happy, Pepper and I are your family. The bots are your family. The suits are your children. You’ve never been without a family.”

Tony nodded numbly. He could see that now. “I was very alone, Rhodey. I wasn’t happy. Now, I feel like I do have a family. Pepper and I are doing great, really great, but back then… No, you may say I had a family but I didn’t, no matter how close you were to me. I treated you badly, not as a friend. Afghanistan was the making of me.”

“Tony-” Steve tried to speak but Tony cut him off.

“If you try to say the Avengers are my family like you said in that letter you sent, they’re not. Barton and Maximoff hate me. You dislike me. Nat betrayed me. No, if the Avengers were family we would have sorted through the Accords like adults. Do you even know who stopped them from killing Barnes when they caught you in Bucharest? Me. I stood up for you. The kill order was only rescinded because I appealed to Ross.”

Bruce held up a hand. “Wait. Ross? Thaddeus Ross? The one who wants _me_?”

“Yeah,” answered Steve.

“It’s complicated,” Tony continued. “But the world turned against us, Bruce. We all made mistakes. I tried to work with the world to keep the Avengers together.”

“But others disagreed,” intoned Nat, nodding to Steve.

“Please, don’t make any judgments on who is right or wrong before seeing what happened,” suggested Tony. “Thaddeus Ross’ involvement was unfortunate. I hate the guy as much as anybody but sometimes you have to work with people you may not like to get things done. When the world turns against you, don’t keep on fighting. It doesn’t work.” 

“But something else happened,” noted Bruce, looking at Tony and then at Steve.

Tony confirmed. “It did.”

But no one seemed to want to elaborate further.

“Shall we continue?” prompted Thor.

Everyone agreed.

**Yinsen observed Tony was a man who had everything and nothing. Tony gave him a half-smile.**

**Three men were walking through the cave to the prison cell door. One looked through the peephole, saw Tony and Yinsen sitting there and walked away.**

**There was a sound of a flare as Tony welding something together, wearing goggles so as not to injure his eyes. He was fixing a wire into a green canister. Men were watching over the security feeds, trying to figure out what part of the Jericho Tony was building.**

“They’re starting to get suspicious…” Sam said, his voice slightly worried.

**A bald man looks menacing on as the Tony on camera tested out a leg piece as Yinsen watches.**

“Shit!” Rhodey swore.

“Swearing, honey-bear,” grinned Tony.

“Shut up, Tones,” grated Rhodey. “You knew you were being observed. Couldn’t you have tested the leg without being seen?”

Tony shook his head. “No. If I wasn’t seen on camera they would come and inspect my work station. I had to be careful but not too careful.” He tapped his chest where the Arc Reactor had once sat. “They knew I had made another chest-piece. I think they realised I was probably building other things as well as the missile. Not that I was building them the missile but I did have to make it seem like I was without arousing too much attention.”

“You still did well to create a suit when you were being observed by your captors,” said Bucky. “You had more freedom than I did. I never had the chance.”

Tony winced. Barnes had suffered too: taken prisoner and brutally tortured and turned into the Winter Soldier. He may have killed Howard and Maria Stark but Barnes had, had no control over his actions. _When this is over, I need to talk to him._ “I’m sorry.”

Barnes gratefully inclined his head.

Steve smiled slightly, feeling a bit better over this situation. If Tony could forgive Bucky, or at least make peace with him, then it gave him hope he’d be able to make things work between himself and Tony again.

**The peephole opens again and a man shouted in Arabic. Tony looked up from his work as the cell door opens, and men with guns enter, gesturing at Tony and Yinsen to move away from their work. Both put their hands behind their head.**

**The bald man – clearly the leader of the group – walked in.**

“Raza,” informed Tony. “He was the leader of this faction of the Ten Rings.” He felt the others should know his name, even though it didn’t really matter as Raza had been dead for years, courtesy of one Obadiah Stane.

**Raza told them to lower their hands. He walked over to Tony and opened the top of Tony’s shirt with his fingers, inspecting the Arc Reactor in his chest. He spoke as he walked away from Tony. “The bow and arrow was once the pinnacle of weapons technology.”**

“Still is,” said Clint proudly.

Tony doubted that but Clint was a master at it. He may have said something positive but he doubted Clint would appreciate it coming from him.

**“It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine.” Raza inspected Tony’s desk. “An Empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and five times the size of the Roman Empire.” Raza began to walk back towards Tony, then spotted the tracing paper and picks them up. “But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules the lands.” Raza couldn’t see anything worth noting on the paper and put them back. “And soon, it will be my turn.”**

“He’s deluded,” stated Clint. “He’d be stopped before he could make any progress on taking lands.”

Steve nodded in appreciation.

**Raza continued to stare at Tony. He spoke in Urdu and Yinsen answered that they were working. Raza said he let Yinsen live and this was how he was repaying him.**

“Shit,” swore Sam. “He knows.”

“Something bad is going to happen…” muttered Bruce.

“You could say that…” Tony confirmed.

“He better not hurt Yinsen!” Thor growled.

**Yinsen defended himself saying it was very complicated and that Tony was trying very hard.**

“Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it with that guy,” warned Sam.

**Raza ordered Yinsen to his knees. He was grabbed and forced down as Tony looked briefly away.**

**“You think I’m a fool?” stated Raza. “I’ll get the truth.”**

**“We’re both working,” explained Yinsen.**

**Raza turns and holds out tongs with burning coal.**

**“Open your mouth,” ordered Raza.**

“NO!” Steve and Bucky both stood up. Thor jumped up too.

**Tony asked what Raza wanted and the terrorist reiterated again that they must have thought him a fool. Yinsen’s head was placed on the rock and turned to the side. Raza demanded to know what was going on and to tell him the truth. Speaking in Arabic, Yinsen told him Tony was building the Jericho. He kept on repeating the answer to the same question, not yielding.**

“Tony, you have to do something!” Steve turned to face his former teammate. “Please tell me you didn’t just let this happen!”

“I’ll be surprised if he steps in,” added Wanda nastily.

Steve chose to ignore her comment.

“Watch and see,” advised Tony.

Steve turned back to the screen.

**Tony steps forward querying whether Raza wanted a delivery date. The other men in the cave raised their guns at Tony, who raises his arms. Raza looked at Tony, still holding the burning coal to Yinsen’s mouth.**

**“I need him. Good assistant.”**

**Raza put the coal down. “You have until tomorrow to assemble my missile.” He threw the tongs away and Tony watched him and the others leave.**

“Shit. That was close,” breathed out Bucky.

“I did what I could to help,” added Tony quietly. “He helped me. I helped him. I couldn’t let them hurt him for something I’d done.”

Wanda caught Tony’s gaze. “You did what I didn’t expect of you.” Her voice had lost the edge to it, but there was still distrust in her eyes.

“You’d be surprised what you don’t know about me. You may believe you know me but you don’t.” Tony turned back to the screen.

**The scene changed to Tony in a green vest, his Arc Reactor shining as he hammered metalwork into place, then putting a facial plate in burning water, bringing it out and placing it on a table in front of Yinsen, who was working with various wires.**

Rhodey whistled. “The first Iron Man helmet. Rudimentary. But it worked.”

“It got me out of there,” shrugged Tony.

**Tony is wrapping tape around his hands as Yinsen lights up the chest piece in the suit. He helped Tony put on jacket, gloves throat armour and a chest piece. He asked him if he was okay and if he could still move. He wanted him to repeat the instructions again. Tony rattled off the precise instructions of how their plan would work, of how many steps he would need to take to reach each stage in their plan. Yinsen continued to connect stuff up.**

**Outside the cell, in the monitoring cave, Raza looked at the camera feed into the cell. He couldn’t see Stark. His subordinates said he was there a moment ago. Raza ordered them to go look for him. The men rushed off to investigate as Raza saw Yinsen on the feed.**

**The men rushed down the corridor to the cell door, opened the peephole, and yelled for Yinsen and Stark.**

“Tones… this is pushing it… Really close,” winced Rhodey.

“Had no choice. I knew as soon as they noticed I wasn’t on camera they would check on me. We had to time this precisely.” Tony leaned back. “Besides, you know I got out.”

“But to see it is another thing…” his friend pointed out.

**Tony asked Yinsen to say something back to them however Yinsen didn’t speak Hungarian which was what the men were using. They saw a view of the door with explosives set to it, rigged to explode as soon as the door opened. The men pushed the door open and it exploded.**

**Raza saw it happen on the security feed.**

“Shit,” hissed Natasha. “Tony, get out of there!”

“I really hope that suit is working,” swallowed Steve.

“It is,” grinned Tony. At least he wasn’t getting any more snide remarks from Wanda or Clint currently.

**Raza yelled for his mem and they began to converge on the cell.**

**Tony asks how the explosion went. Yinsen looks and was shocked by the debris on the floor. Two men were dead and rubble was scattered all over the floor. He said it worked all right.**

**“That’s what I do,” said Tony.**

“Can’t say Tony isn’t good at what he does,” pointed out Rhodey. “Tony has many years of experience making things explode. His weapons never fail.”

“They do,” replied Wanda quietly. “The missile which hit our building failed to go off.”

Rhodey frowned. “That’s odd…”

“Why is it odd?” queried Sam. “Not all weapons are one hundred percent perfect. There could always be manufacturing problems that are not picked up.”

“Not possible. Not at Stark Industries,” intoned Tony. He glanced at Vision. “JARVIS monitored the production of every missile. None of my missiles were ever faulty. They always did what they were supposed to do.”

“But it didn’t go off.” Wanda stood up and moved over to stand in front of Tony. “How can you say that when it clearly happened?”

Tony’s lips twitched. “I think you’ll find what was fired at your home was not a genuine Stark missile.”

“What?” Shock spread across the young woman’s face.

“Watch and see, Wanda,” advised Tony.

“Wanda?” Steve asked cautiously. “Come on.”

Wanda sat down again, her posture uncomfortable and it was clear she was mulling over Tony’s words.

**Yinsen finished setting everything up and Tony instructed him to initialize the power sequence. Yinsen loaded up an old-style computer that was quite slow. He asked Tony to tell him what to do. “Function 11. Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now.” Tony sounded slightly desperate. Yinsen told him it was and they saw a green box had appeared, slowly beginning to load.**

“Come on…” whispered Bruce. “I don’t know how you coped when everything was riding against you.”

“Good thing we were deep inside the caves. Our cell was quite deep. Even if I’d got out without a suit, I would have been caught quite easily which was why I never tried to escape. I had to bide my time and wait until I was ready, though Raza did push me into rushing things.”

**Tony told Yinsen to press ‘Control’ and ‘I’ and then ‘I’ and ‘Enter’ together. He asked Yinsen to come and button him up. The terrorists were still rushing towards Tony’s location. Tony continued to give Yinsen instructions. He needed to button up every other hex bolt, but Yinsen was aware they were about to be caught by their captors. The progress bar was slowly inching closer to one hundred percent.**

**“Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, okay?” Tony needed to know Yinsen would get out.**

**“We need more time,” said Yinsen desperately. “I’m gonna go and buy you some time.”**

**“Stick to the plan!” yelled Tony, still stuck waiting for the suit to finish powering up.**

**Yinsen grabbed a gun from one of the dead terrorists and ran off.**

**“Stick to the plan!” Tony yelled again. He could hear the sound of gunshots as Yinsen ran off down the corridor. Tony looked horrified by the turn of events. “Yinsen.”**

“He died, didn’t he?” said Steve quietly.

Tony bowed his head. Yinsen’s death still hurt. The man had saved his life but he hadn’t been able to repay the gesture. “Yeah, he did.”

“He’d be proud of what you’ve done.”

“We don’t know that. Yinsen isn’t alive to see it,” swallowed Tony.

**The progress bar was only at fifty percent.**

**The terrorists were running down the corridor, only to turn and run as Yinsen comes by with a gun, firing it into the air. He arrived at the entrance of the cave and Yinsen stopped. Raza and his men all point guns at Yinsen.**

Thor bowed his head. “Yinsen was a good man.”

“He didn’t deserve to die,” added Steve.

Bucky shook his head. “He didn’t.”

**Back in the cavern cell there was a beeping indicating the suit had finally reached one hundred percent. The lights went out and a few of the terrorists run into the darkened cave. The centre man pushed his comrade forward.**

“Coward,” grated Clint.

**The men looked around anxiously as the lights dimmed and then flashed. A gloved hand was seen flexing its fingers. One of the men turn around and sees a shining white light, starts firing his gun but it thrown back. The other men start firing bullets around the darkened cavern. The stopped, looking for Stark, then their eyes widened as someone in big metal armour started to attack them.**

**Their bullets did not penetrate its shell.**

“Bloody hell! It was bullet-proof?” Sam was shocked.

“Had to be,” explained Tony. “Or at least give me a lot of protection. Naturally, the later suits I improved a lot. This was just a rudimentary version which was needed to get me out.”

**The terrorists continued to fire however Tony punches one out-cold. Then they saw the suit and the various weapons attached to it. There were gun emplacements, fire launchers, all moulded into the crude armour. Tony walked forward as the remaining men screamed. Tony continues to fire and attacks them, flinging them back. The rest started to flee and Tony started to follow. They shut the door on Tony hoping it would stop him.**

“It won’t work. The suit is more than capable of smashing through the door,” observed Vision.

“I wouldn’t want to be the terrorist trapped in the room with you,” added Clint, perhaps one of the nicest things he had said to Tony since the viewing had started.

**The man pounds on the door as the others behind it began to step back. All they could hear was screaming and then a loud clumping noise and silence.**

“They might want to think about running…” pointed out Bucky.

“I think they hope a wooden door will stop Tony.” Bruce shook his head. “Never ever kidnap a genius scientist and allow him to play with weapons. It never ends well.”

**Tony bashed the door down and a few began to flee whilst others rushed to attack Tony. He swings his arm and it gets trapped in the wall. Tony tugged, trying to pull the arm out. One of the terrorists approached, aimed at the metal head.**

Rhodey held his head in his hands. “This won’t end well.”

**The bullet rebounds and hits the terrorist in the head.**

“Knew it,” commented Rhodey.

**Tony pulled his arm free and continued his journey through the cavern.**

**Raza is loading a rocket launcher and Yinsen was coughing in the background, clothes covered in blood.**

“He’s still alive?” Steve gasped. “Surely there is something-”

Tony shook his head. “No. I couldn’t save him.”

**Tony yelled for Yinsen. “Watch out!” responded Yinsen, warning him of the impending attack. As Tony came into view, Raza fired the rocket launcher. Tony leaned back and the missile hit the wall. Tony released a catch on his arm and fires his own missile which exploded close to Raza, collapsing rubble onto the man.**

“You didn’t try to kill him?” Steve looked impressed. “After what he did to you?”

Tony shook his head. “No. Burnt him pretty good though.”

**Tony approached Yinsen and lifted his helmet up.**

**“Stark.” Yinsen gasped.**

**“Come on. We got to go. Move for me, come on. We got a plan. We’re gonna stick to it.”**

“Oh, Tones…” whispered Rhodey. “He meant a lot to you.”

“He did,” replied Tony softly. Even seeing Yinsen’s death again was getting to him. “He gave me a second chance.”

**“This was always the plan, Stark,” said Yinsen.**

**Tony wasn’t having any of it. “Come on, you’re gonna go see your family. Get up.”**

**“My family is dead. I’m going to see them now, Stark. It’s okay.”**

**Tony’s face was twitching.**

**“I want this.” Yinsen’s voice was getting shallower and quieter. “I want this…”**

**Tony sighs, a slight smile crossing his face. He couldn’t change Yinsen’s fate but he could accept it. “Thank you for saving me.”**

**“Don’t waste it. Don’t waste your life.”**

“Those words…” began Tony, “were what made me rethink everything. It wasn’t Afghanistan itself which changed me, it was Yinsen. He saved me when he shouldn’t have done. Everything I’ve done since then is to try to atone for what I’d done before. I wasted my life building weapons because that’s what Obadiah wanted. It never occurred to me until Afghanistan how damaging they were, how they destroyed people’s lives…”

Wanda glanced at him curiously, her face slightly softening.

**Tony watched as Yinsen died, and then he looked to the cave entrance, anger in his eyes.**

**Outside, the surviving men of Raza’s group trained their guns on the entrance. Trembling footsteps echo and then Tony’s menacing suit appears. The men shouted and fired bullet after bullet all at Tony’s armour. He stood there, taking every hit. Then, the hail of bullets stopped. Tony raised his arms.**

**“My turn.” And he let loose his flame thrower, spreading fire all over the camp, flaming all the Stark weapons stacked in boxes and the men who did not manage to avoid the flames.**

“Remind me never to piss you off again,” stated Sam.

Tony laughed. “If it helps, I do not use flame throwers on later Iron Man suits.” Then he frowned, contemplating the idea. “Though it may be something to consider for the next Mark up.”

**The suit walked through the camp. A machine gun stopped him in his tracks and the bullets started to take an effect upon the suit. Tony’s legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees. He tried to fire more of his flame-thrower, increasing the blast. Everything is exploded around him.**

Steve was leaning forward, watching, and waiting. “Tony, you need to get out of there!”

**Tony flicked a red switch on his left arm.**

**As everything exploded around him, thrusters in Tony’s feet propel him forward, through the blast, and as he reaches the top of the arc, his booster withered and he started to fall headfirst towards the desert. Tony screamed and at the last minute, he flipped onto his back and crash-landed in the desert.**

Everyone flinched.

“That must have hurt,” muttered Clint.

“It did,” confirmed Tony. “I’d hoped the thrusters would have taken me further.”

“How are you still alive?” Bruce asked incredulously. “The suit shouldn’t have protected you that much, not from a fall of that height!”

Tony shrugged. “Lucky, I guess? I think turning in the air when I did, absorbed most of the impact.” Even he had been baffled as to how he had survived with hardly any injuries from that fall. 

**The suit was completed trashed, broken to pieces. Tony was in a ditch, pulling the Iron Man helmet off. Blood coated his face and neck. He sighs in relief. “Not bad.”**

“Thanks to you making such noise out there, our scanners picked up on the explosions and we flew out to investigate.” Rhodey patted Tony on the back. “If you hadn’t escaped like that, we would never have found you.”

**Tony is partially running and stumbling through the desert in trousers and vest, with the jacket he had been wearing used to protect his head from the scorching sun overhead. Hot sun beat down upon him as he reached the top of the dune.**

“How long were you out there for?” asked Steve, sounding concerned.

“A few hours,” answered Tony. “But I was already weak, starving, and dehydrated when I started out… I wouldn’t have lasted much longer if help hadn’t arrived.” He glanced gratefully at Rhodey.

**Suddenly, two helicopters flew overhead.**

**Tony started to wave frantically. “Hey!” He was jubilant, raising his hand in the trademark peace sign and collapsed to his knees.**

**The helicopter began to land and five soldiers with loaded guns began to run toward him. One of the soldiers was Rhodey. His friend knelt down in front of him. “How was the ‘fun-vee’?” Tony smiled and laughed lightly. Rhodey reaches for his friend’s shoulder. “Next time, you ride with me, okay?” Rhodey’s voice was breaking. Tony leaned in for a hug.**

Rhodey was shaking his head. “You don’t know how I felt when we realised, we had found you, Tony. I was this close to being sent home and the search for you being called off. Those three months you were gone were… hell. I shouldn’t have let you go off on your own.”

“Rhodey… it was my fault. But… if you’d been with me, you’d be dead,” added Tony quietly.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I wouldn’t have let them take you.” Rhodey was adamant about that.

Tony didn’t want to push the subject any further.

“The main thing, is that Tony survived,” interjected Steve. “And he was found.”

Rhodey nodded, agreeing with the Captain.

“The world would be a worser place without Tony Stark in it,” said Rhodey.

“They don’t agree with that assessment,” pointed out Tony, nodding towards Wanda and Clint.

They both looked uncomfortable. Perhaps the events they had seen so far had made them rethink their views on Tony.

“It’s alright,” admitted Tony. “When I’m dead and gone, the world won’t miss me. I’ve already come to terms with that.” He gave them all a pointed look, telling them that no further discussion was needed.

Then, they all turned back to the screen and the movie resumed. 

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> A few points: In Civil War, Steve and Sam are told that the soldiers have the order to kill Barnes on sight. However, I find that hard to believe, because if they did have those orders, then once Barnes had been caught after the car chase, why didn't they shoot him then? There was equal opportunity to do so, yet the soldiers only captured them. I think the original order was to kill Bucky, but someone stepped in, on their behalf, and appealed for the order to be changed from kill to capture. 
> 
> Wanda is also starting to have some doubts about her opinion of Tony too. 
> 
> Tony's comment to Wanda about the missiles used were not genuine Stark missiles, I think there is some truth to this theory. More will be revealed. 
> 
> The next chapter will be posted next Sunday on the 19th July. 
> 
> Until then,
> 
> the-writer1988


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony announces he will stop Weapons Manufacturing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments so far!

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Five**

**A U.S Air Force plane landed on a runway. Pepper stood wearing a brown business suit, her hair tied back, and she trying not to cry as Happy stood to the side by the car.**

Tony smiled sadly. Pepper had really missed him. She had been so relieved when she’d known he was coming home.

**The ramp descended and Tony gets up from the wheelchair and Rhodey helped him down the ramp. Tony’s right shoulder was in a sling. Tony’s face was a mask, and he looked as immaculate as he could be.**

“The patent Stark look,” mused Tony.

“What do you mean?” asked Bucky.

“It’s Mr. Stark’s mask,” answered Vision cautiously. “He wears it in public. Only a few have ever seen him with the mask down.”

**Medics approached with a stretcher but Tony dismissed them. Rhodey waved them away. Tony walked towards Happy and Pepper. Pepper smiled, her eyes nearly watering with tears.**

**Tony scrutinised her, and he still had cuts on the right side of his face. “Hmm. Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?”**

**“Tears of joy. I hate job hunting.”**

**“Yeah. Vacation’s over.”**

Tony frowned. “What did Pepper do whilst I was away? Stane used her, didn’t he, as his own PA?”

Rhodey nodded. “He did. But she didn’t really enjoy it. She was looking for another job before the news came through you had been found. She dropped all applications.”

Tony felt his heart tug at that. Pepper had stayed for him.

**They got into the car and Happy asked where Tony would like to go. Pepper intervened on Tony’s behalf, telling Happy to take them to the hospital. Tony refused, and though Pepper tried to convince him to go, Tony stated: “I don’t have to do anything. I’ve been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do.”**

Clint shivered. “I really hope it isn’t what I’m thinking it is.”

“It’s not,” replied Tony.

**“I want an American cheeseburger, and the other….”**

**Pepper interrupted: “That’s enough of that.”**

**Tony eyed her. “…is not what you think.”**

“I know I had a reputation but even for Pepper that was a bit harsh…” mused Tony.

Rhodey snorted.

“Ok,” admitted the engineer, “maybe it wasn’t, but still…”

“You did surprise her with what you really wanted to do though,” finished Rhodey.

**Tony wanted to call for a press conference. Pepper wanted to know why he did but Tony didn’t elaborate, ordering Happy to drive but to get the cheeseburger first.**

**They were soon arriving at Stark Industries. There was a crowd of people waiting outside to welcome Tony back, including Obadiah. They all began to clap as the car pulled in. Stane opened the door and Tony got out, wiping his mouth. The two men hugged. Stane mentioned that they were going to meet at the hospital. Tony admitted he was fine, and Stane admired him, surprised to see how well he looked, considering the living conditions Tony had been in for the past three months.**

**Happy came round with a Burger King and Tony reached out for one. Stane asked if one of them was for him. But Tony stated that as there was only one left, he needed it.**

“Plus, I was hungry,” defended Tony. “I’d been living off rice and beans for months.” He shivered. “Never again.”

**As they walked into the conference room together, photographs were taken of the two together. Pepper smiles as she followed. Everyone was clapping Tony’s return and Pepper sighs in relief as Tony made his way through the crowd.**

“She loved you even then…” mused Sam. “Did you know?”

“I used to flirt with her. I always knew she liked me. But I didn’t know I was in love with her until after Afghanistan. I wish I’d realised earlier,” sighed Tony. “But I was too self-absorbed. People would say I still am… To the public, I am but to the people who know me… I’m not as bad as I was.”

**A man in a business suit approached her. He had close-cropped hair.**

“Coulson!” Steve said shocked.

“I had a run-in with him a few times,” shrugged Tony.

**Coulson wanted to speak to Pepper for a moment. Pepper explained that she wasn’t part of the Press Conference but that it was about to begin. Coulson explained he wasn’t a reporter but that he was an Agent with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.”**

“Otherwise known as SHIELD,” clarified Barton.

**Coulson handed her his card. She stated that it was quite a mouthful. He said they were working on it. She took the card and Pepper elaborated that they had already been approached already by the DoD, the FBI, and the CIA. Coulson told her that he was with a separate division with a more specific focus and that they needed to debrief Tony on the circumstances of his escape. Pepper promised to put something in the book for them and Coulson thanked her.**

“Wait.” Tony held his hand up. “Did SHIELD have suspicions about my escape?”

Clint eyed him warily. “There was the consideration you may have betrayed the country, that you may have given them secrets.”

“I blew them up. How much proof do they need that I wouldn’t do it?” Tony shook his head in wonderment. “I thought SHIELD knew me better than that.”

“Trouble was, Stark is that we didn’t know what they had done to you out there, nor what you may have done for them. It was National Security that you be debriefed. You know SHIELD has ways of making sure others tell the truth when they are being interrogated.” Clint turned back to the screen. “You didn’t exactly cooperate with them, did you? As far as I can tell, you were never debriefed. And you wonder why we think you’re not trustworthy? You could have betrayed our country.”

**Stane stood at the podium, looks around and notices Tony was sitting on the floor in front of the podium, getting the last Cheeseburger out of his pocket. Tony asked if it would be alright if everyone sat down as that way, they would be able to see him and he could see them. The reporters looked amused and surprised but sat down. Tony took a bite of the cheeseburger. Stane sat beside him and as cameras flashed on the historic moment, Tony began to speak.**

**Rhodey whispered into Pepper’s ear, wondering why Tony was being close to the press. She didn’t know what he was up to.**

**Tony looked at Stane. “Good to see you.”**

**Stane returned the compliment.**

Tony gritted his teeth as he watched. Stane must have been so angry on the inside that Tony had survived and come home. He had set Tony up to die, had wanted to become CEO, and had conspired to have Tony killed. His former co-partner had an excellent poker face if he had been able to hide his duplicitous side without Tony realising.

_But then I never used to take notice of anything. Now, I do._

**“I never got to say goodbye to Dad.” Tony began. “I never got to say goodbye to my father.”**

Bucky winced. He hated being reminded that he’d killed a friend, had taken two innocent lives away because Hydra had wanted what they’d carried with them. He’d made Tony an orphan. He wondered if Stark would ever be able to forgive him?

**Tony finished eating his burger. “There’s questions I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels.”**

Steve frowned. What did that mean? Had Howard really changed as much as Tony said he had?

**Rhodey lightly smiles.**

**“I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability.”**

**A reporter raised his hand. “Mr Stark?”**

**“Hey, Ben,” answered Tony.**

**“What happened over there?”**

**“Uh, I had-” Tony got up and started to walk around the podium, “-my eyes opened. I came to realise I have more to offer this world then just making things blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International.”**

“You didn’t even talk through with anyone before announcing it?” gasped Steve, surprised at how quickly Tony had decided to end manufacturing.

Tony nodded. “I didn’t. I didn’t want any more people killed by my weapons. I wanted production stopped, all orders cancelled and anyone who was using them to return them to us for authorised destruction. My business, my rules.” Granted, he could have gone another way around it though.

“Let me say, your announcement gave SHIELD a field day. Fury was… furious,” remembered Clint.

“I bet he was,” Tony grinned.

**The reporters got to their feet, shouting questions and talking over one another. Pepper looked shocked, her mouth hanging open in surprise at the announcement.**

**Tony was still at the podium, still trying to speak over the ruckus. “Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be.”**

**Stane tried to take over, to salvage the situation, trying to tell Tony that they would be selling a lot of newspapers.**

**Tony pushed back. “What direction it should take, one that I’m comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country as well.”**

**Rhodey looked disappointed.**

“I was disappointed at first,” admitted Rhodey. “The army depended on Stark Industries for everything. To have that suddenly cut off caused a lot of problems. I wasn’t happy first either but once I understood… I supported it.”

Tony nodded his thanks.

**Tony started to walk through the reporters as Stane stood at the podium. “What we should take away from this is that Tony’s back! And he’s healthier than ever! We’re going to have a little internal discussion and we’ll get back to you with the follow-up.”**

Steve frowned. “Wait. Didn’t Stane die a short while after this?” When he’d been reading up on his teammates shortly before the Avengers formed, he had read something about a man named Stane. 

“He did,” remembered Bruce. “It was in the papers. Killed in a crash?”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to yield. “You’ll find out.” Though they would probably figure out Stane’s involvement at some point.

**Happy stood aside, guarding the car as Stane arrives on a Segway, smoking a cigar. He wanted to know where Tony was. Happy pointed him to the building behind him. Happy took the Segway and Stane used his keyguard to unlock the front door and enter into the building where the original Arc Reactor stood.**

**Tony stood in front of it. Stane stepped up, cigar in his mouth, and his hands at his sides. He said the press conference had gone well, implying that it hadn’t by the tone of his voice.**

**Tony asked whether he had just painted a target on his back.**

“Little did I know I already had one,” mused Tony. Stane had put one on his back years ago, but it had taken a few years before he had decided to finally do something about Tony and take aim at him by putting him into a situation where his very life was in danger.

**Stane walked forward, claiming that it wasn’t just Tony’s head, it was his own as well. They discussed what the stock market would do following the shocking announcement and they predicted, optimistically it would drop to 40 points.**

**“Tony, we’re a weapon’s manufacturer.”**

**“Obie, I just don’t want a body count to be our only legacy,” explained Tony.**

“Too much death and destruction on my hands already,” winced Tony. “It had to stop.”

Wanda peered at Tony curiously but didn’t say a word.

“Weapon’s manufacturer or not, your company had other branches it had footholds in, didn’t it?” queried Sam.

“It did. Weapons manufacturing was our primary contract but we had lots of other contracts coming through as we were moving into innovating technology.” Tony looked back at the screen. “I should have gone about it differently. Not been hasty, instead discussed with the board of directors before proceeding forthwith. But I had to stop those weapons from getting out.”

**Stane said that was what they did, that they were Iron Mongers. Tony replied with it was his name on the side of the building. Stane counteracted with saying it was keeping the world from falling into chaos. Tony shook his head.**

**“Not based on what I saw. We’re not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We’re gonna do something else.” Tony was adamant about it.**

**Stane queried with what, and whether it would be baby bottles.**

Steve narrowed his gaze. “He’s quite condescending. He’s not even considering it, is he?”

Tony shook his head. “Nope. Stane wouldn’t. He built his career around being an Iron Monger.”

“I’m sensing there is more to you two than we’re seeing…” mused Steve.

Tony chose not to elaborate.

**Tony suggested that he thought they should take another look into Arc Reactor technology. Stane said the Arc Reactor had been a publicity stunt. They had built the thing to shut the hippies up.**

Steve frowned. “Howard just built it for that reason? He couldn’t do anything else with it?”

“No,” answered Tony quietly. “He was limited with the technology of his time. He couldn’t advance any further.”

“It must have frustrated him,” mused Steve, “not being able to advance further. He was always inventing things.”

Tony couldn’t disagree with Rogers on that assertion. For once he was right about Howard Stark.

**Stane walked around frustrated. Tony was adamant that it worked. Stane was not so receptive to the idea stating it was just a science project and had never been cost effective, and they’d known that when they’d built it. He asked Tony if Arc Reactor technology was still a dead end. He was standing behind Tony, who was struggling not to smile. “Maybe…” toyed Tony.**

**Stane glanced at the Arc Reactor. “Am I right? We haven’t had a breakthrough in that in what? 30 years?”**

Sam winced. “Someone told him. Who was it?”

Rhodey had the audacity to look embarrassed. He’d always trusted Stane. For him to betray Tony and his country in such a way had been… hurtful.

Clint noticed his reaction. “Rhodey. It has to be.”

**Tony turned to face Stane, stating that’s what they say about the technology. They eye one another up and Tony broke first, asking Stane if he could have a lousier poker face, wanting to know who told him. Stane wanted to see it and it didn’t matter who had told him. Tony guessed it was either Rhodey or Pepper but Stane gave it away when he said he wanted to see it. It had been Rhodey.**

“Knew it,” said Clint.

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “Only because you saw my reaction. Not really your own deduction really, is it?”

Clint frowned.

**Removing his arm brace, unbuttoned his shirt, they both looked around to see they had privacy before Tony revealed the Arc Reactor embedded in his chest. It shined brightly, sitting in his chest. Obadiah nodded, buttoning the shirt up. He was laughing quietly.**

“Why do I get the feeling this is just a profit for him?” queried Bruce.

Tony would have said something if he didn’t want them to find out as they watched.

**Tony said it worked. Stane put his arm around Tony’s shoulders, telling him that they were a team and that there was nothing they couldn’t do if they stuck together, like Howard and Stane had been.**

_He didn’t really believe that,_ thought Tony. _He wanted to be CEO. He wanted to have what I had._ Stane’s betrayal made him wonder if his father’s friend had ever contemplated arranging the death of Howard Stark too? It wasn’t an answer he would ever have.

**Tony apologised for not telling him either but Obadiah interrupted, telling him there was no more of this ‘ready, fire, aim’ business. Tony noted that saying had once been his father’s line. Obadiah wanted to handle this, and that they were going to have to play a whole different kind of ball now and they would have to take a lot of heat. He wanted Tony to promise that he was going to lay low for the time being.**

“But laying low isn’t what you should do,” pointed out Bruce.

“It isn’t?” Steve was surprised, as was Tony.

Bruce nodded. “Tony’s made a big announcement to the world to shut down weapons manufacturing, renegading on Government contracts, and other deals he may have had in place. He should be out there justifying why it’s a good idea to do so, to throw it all away and go in a new direction. Hiding away and allowing Stane to deal with it is asking for trouble.”

“Wish I’d thought of that back then, Bruce,” noted Tony.

“It just seemed obvious to me,” shrugged the other scientist. “Only way of getting people on your side is to be visible and laying out plans as to how it will work and not ruin the reputation of the company.”

Tony leaned back, thoughtfully. “Points well made. I guess I trusted Stane to do the right thing.”

Trust was hard to come by these days.

_Only Pepper, Rhodey and Happy. They are all I can trust._

**There was a tv programme called Mad Money mocking Stark Industries. The presenter got a baseball bat and smashes a cup, comparing it to S.I’s new business plan. Pepper winced as she watched it, as the presenter continued to take the mickey out of the latest business decision from the weapon’s company. Pepper winced again over the sounds of a toy gun firing.**

Bucky frowned. “He’s going a bit overboard.”

“Stark Industries became the laughing stock of a lot of entertainment shows for quite a few weeks,” said Natasha. “SHIELD was monitoring the situation.”

Tony leaned forward, fixing Natasha with an intense gaze. “You were? Why?”

“SHIELD had a vested interest in you. They were very surprised when you announced the immediate closure of weapon’s production. They were ready to step in if things got out of hand.”

That surprised Tony. “Slander in the media was never SHIELD’s thing.”

“It got our attention. More so since SHIELD had quietly been investigating your disappearance. Isn’t that right, Clint?” Natasha called out to her friend.

Clint fidgeted on his seat. “Maybe.” He couldn’t look at Tony.

“Wait. Are you saying what I think you are?” Rhodey looked from Natasha to Clint and back to Natasha again.

“SHIELD had agents in Afghanistan looking for Stark before he escaped,” admitted Clint. “Nat and I spent a few weeks there.”

“I… I…. never knew that,” swallowed Tony, surprised SHIELD had been looking for him too.

“We never got any leads. The Ten Rings were very thorough. Even if we had located you, extracting you may have been… impossible,” explained Natasha.

“But why would SHIELD care about Stark?” sniped Wanda. “He wasn’t a part of them.”

But it was Steve who realised. “Weapons.”

“And military secrets,” whispered Tony. “I was partial to quite a few secrets as their primary weapons manufacturer. Plus, I could hack into any system I wanted. I was a security risk.”

Natasha inclined her head, her red hair trailing down her shoulders. “A risk SHIELD couldn’t afford to lose or be used against us.”

“Barton was bought along for a reason, wasn’t he?” Tony had already caught on.

Natasha bit her lower lip. “Yes…” 

Steve’s eyes widened. “Wait. SHIELD would have-?” He gaped.

“Had me assassinated if they had found me and couldn’t extract me.” Tony wasn’t surprised.

Horrified was an understatement. Steve shook his head. “SHIELD shouldn’t-”

“Stark was a security risk,” stated Clint. “If he helped the terrorists and we had a shot to take him out, then it would have been for the good of the country.”

Tony could understand why an order of assassination may have been made. It didn’t mean he had to like it. “Taking me out would have been smart. But, as you saw, the Ten Rings were very thorough. I was rarely out in the open.”

“What’s important is you didn’t sell out America or any of its secrets. You got out,” clarified Natasha. She could see Steve didn’t like the idea of assassination. “But SHIELD had been investigating your company during your absence. SHIELD knew your weapons had fallen into the hands of other groups. We just didn’t know how. Your subsequent kidnap rose suspicions, and that’s why we had those orders. If we couldn’t get you out, we had to stop you from becoming a threat.”

Tony turned away from her. “Always knew Fury never liked me much.”

“It wasn’t Fury.”

Surprise crossed his face. “Oh. Who?”

“Alexander Pierce, former Head of SHIELD and…”

“HYDRA…” Tony realised. “That makes sense…”

“We didn’t know it at the time. I think we took out a lot of targets that could have been helpful to SHIELD but would have become threats to HYDRA if they’d been allowed to live. A lot of good people died because we simply didn’t know how deep they’d dug their claws into SHIELD.”

“But if HYDRA really wanted you dead, they would have sent me,” said Bucky. “Not those two.”

“Then I’m grateful HYDRA still felt they had a use for me to not send you in the first instance,” replied Tony, briefly making eye contact with the former HYDRA prisoner. He returned his attention to the screen.

**Tony’s voice came over her earpiece, asking her how big were her hands. Pepper muted the TV and connected to Tony, who repeated the question. She didn’t understand why he needed to know. He ordered her to get down there as he needed her.**

Steve frowned. “You didn’t treat Pepper well when she was your PA. Always ordering her around. People shouldn’t be treated like that. Why didn’t you just ask nicely?”

Tony glared at Steve. “It was the way we were with each other. And, I was her boss.”

“Still should have respected her.”

Wanda sniffed. “Stark is like that with me. Giving me orders. Only difference is he gives them through others.”

Shaking his head, Tony wondered whether it was worth his breath to argue back.

“Wanda, he was trying to protect you. He knew you wouldn’t listen to him if he told you himself. That’s why he asked Vision to keep an eye on you. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to you,” explained Rhodey. “Tony has his faults – and he has many –”

Tony shot him a look.

“Oh, you know you do, Tones, but he means well, even if he goes about it the wrong way.”

She frowned, looking thoughtful. 

**Pepper went to Tony’s lab where she found him sitting on a chair, leaning back, shirt off. His chest was exposed and there were wires attached to him, including an ECG line to test his heart rate. In Tony’s hands was a shining, round object.**

“What are you doing?” gaped Steve.

“You’ll see,” smiled Tony. “If you think I treated Pepper badly, wait to you see what I ask her to do here.” He knew they’d probably criticise him for it but Pepper… He trusted her. Trusted her with his life. Always would.

**Pepper walks warily in.**

**“Let’s see them. Show me your hands. Let’s see them,” ordered Tony.**

“Please was never in Tony’s vocabulary,” pointed out Rhodey before anyone could make a remark about the way Tony had phrased his request to Pepper. 

**Pepper raised them.**

**“Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite indeed. I just need your help for a sec.”**

**Pepper stared at the Arc Reactor in his chest. “Oh, my god, is that the thing that’s keeping you alive?”**

**“It was,” he admitted, “it is now an antique. This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I’m swapping it up for an upgraded unit,” he looked at Pepper, “and I just ran into a little speed bump.”**

Sam understood first. “Your hands are too big. You can’t swap it out yourself.”

Tony shook his head. “No, I can’t. I made sure in future it was something I could do though. Not sure how long Pepper would have stayed if I’d asked her to keep on doing it for me.”

Steve eyed him curiously. “Why?”

“You’ll see.” 

**“Speed bump, what does that mean?” Pepper queried.**

**“It’s nothing. It’s a little snag,” corrected Tony. “There’s an exposed wire under this device.” Tony started to fiddle with the device in his chest. “And it’s contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short.” He pulled the shining Reactor out. Pepper jumped at his movement. “It’s fine.”**

**“What do you want me to do?”**

**“Put that on the table over there. That is irrelevant.”**

**Pepper took the old Reactor from him and placed it on the table. “Oh, my god.”**

**“I want you to reach in, and you’re just gonna gently lift the wire out.”**

Wanda shuddered. “You’re asking her to put her hand inside of you? Why would she agree to this?”

“She’s the only one who could,” explained Tony. “The original Arc Reactor wouldn’t have lasted long if I didn’t replace it with an upgraded model. Pepper was one of the only people who I would trust with this.” He side-glanced at Rhodey. “His hands would have been too big for what I needed Pepper to do.” 

Wanda pulled a face. “It’s still ‘ew’.”

**Pepper looks at the hole in Tony’s chest. “Is it safe?” she asked worriedly.**

**Tony tried to reassure her. “Yeah, it should be fine. It’s like Operation. You just don’t let it touch the socket wall or it goes ‘beep’.”**

Bruce threw Tony a perplexed look. “You didn’t know it was safe though, did you?”

Tony shook his head.

“Mr. Stark was prone to taking risks, even when all risks combined together assumed it should not be taken,” advised Vision.

Steve frowned. “You still do it, Tony. Take risks when you don’t have to, not when there is an easier option.”

Tony sneered. “What? Like ignoring the will of over one hundred countries calling for accountability, Rogers? You took a huge risk and turned the world against you. Don’t lecture me about taking the easier option when you explicitly took the biggest risk possible!”

Steve didn’t reply but his face reddened.

“The easier option would have been complying and making changes,” continued Tony. “Most of you are criminals in the eyes of the law. How is that even the easier option, Rogers?”

Abashed, Steve stayed silent, lowering his gaze to avoid having to meet the others.

**Pepper was perplexed. She’d never heard of Operation before. “Operation?”**

**“It’s just a game. Never mind. Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great.”**

**“Okay.” Pepper started to put her hand in and begins to pull it back out. “You know, I don’t think I’m qualified to do this.”**

“No one is,” commented Rhodey.

Bruce raised a hand. “Apart from me, maybe. Not my area of expertise but I’d be the most qualified of all of us.”

**Tony was certain she was. “No, you’re fine. You’re the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I’ve ever met. You’re gonna do great.”**

Tony smiled gently. “I trusted her. I valued her more than you believe I do. I just didn’t show it as much as I do now.”

**“I…” Pepper started to respond however Tony continued.**

**“Is it too much of a problem to ask? Cause I’m… I really need your help here.”**

**“Okay, okay,” relented Pepper.**

**Tony nodded. “Okay.”**

**Pepper took a deep breath, raised her hand, and puts it into the hole within Tony’s chest, moving it slowly downwards. “Oh, there’s pus!” she grimaced, her features disgusted by what her fingers were feeling.**

Everyone winced.

Wanda closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

**“It’s not pus. It’s an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body,” he reassured her.**

“That still doesn’t make me feel better about you asking her to put her hand down there,” muttered Steve quietly.

**“It smells!” She wanted to gag.**

**“Yeah, it does.” Tony seemed almost proud of that fact.**

“Why do you look so pleased?” Clint threw Tony a dirty glare.

Gritting his teeth, Tony refused to say anything. His reactions to Pepper swapping out the Arc Reactor could have been nicer.

**Pepper looks away as she fiddled inside.**

**“The Copper wire, you got it?” Tony checked.**

**“Okay, I got it. I got it!” Pepper affirmed.**

**“Okay, you got it? Now, don’t let it touch-” Tony screamed aloud as a loud buzzing is heard, “-the sides when you’re coming out, that’s what I was trying to tell you before!”**

“You deserved that,” said Clint, sounding slightly too gleeful. 

Wanda nodded in agreement.

But Bucky frowned. “I do not believe he does. He’s just trying to make light of a bad situation, even if it comes across as if he is enjoying it.”

“Thanks,” whispered Tony quietly. 

**“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Pepper started to pull something out, directing the wire away from the sides as much as possible.**

**A thin copper wire was seen being pulled out of Tony’s chest. “Okay, now make sure when you pull it out, you don’t-” Pepper started to pull it out. “There’s a magnet at the end of it!”**

**Pepper yanked out the magnet.**

Bruce paled. “That shouldn’t have happened, right?”

Tony shook his head.

**“That was it.” Tony stared at the magnet hanging in the air between them, dripping substance from it.**

**The monitor began to beep rapidly, detecting changes to Tony’s heart rate. “You just pulled it out.”**

**“Oh god!” Pepper looked terrified.**

**“Okay, I was not expecting that,” admitted Tony, trying to maintain a semblance of calm.**

“You look shocked,” observed Steve.

Tony scoffed. “The magnet was keeping the shrapnel in place. Of course, I was shocked! I could feel the small pieces in my chest, moving further towards my heart!”

Steve blanched, understanding the implications of how the Arc Reactor had been keeping his teammate alive for years. 

**Pepper started to put it back but Tony stopped her.**

**“Don’t put it back in.”**

“Why not?” cried Sam. “You need it!”

“There is another magnet attached to the new Reactor.” Tony glanced along the row. “The magnet had to come out. But I had devised a safer way to extract it without putting myself in much danger. Unfortunately, we had to act fast.”

**She placed it on the tray next to her. “What’s wrong?”**

“This isn’t the time to be asking questions!” Bruce winced.

“What’s happening?” Thor wondered.

**“Nothing. I’m just going into cardiac arrest ‘cause you yanked it out like a trout!”**

**Pepper stood over him. She was panicking. “What? I thought you said this was safe?”**

“This isn’t the time to be questioning him!” yelled Sam. “How can you be so calm?”

“I knew if I panicked it would make my end come quicker,” answered Tony. “I wasn’t in a hurry to die. Keeping calm was the best option for me.” In retrospect, asking Pepper to do this for him had been a bad idea, but he’d been left with no other option.

**“We gotta hurry.” Tony tried to maintain some semblance of control. “Take this. Take this.” He handed her a new Arc Reactor. “You gotta switch it out really quick.”**

Tony pointed out the obvious. “That’s why she didn’t need to take out the magnet just yet. My plan was to swap the two out and in within seconds.”

**“Okay. Okay.” Pepper held the new Reactor. “Tony, it’s going to be okay.”**

**“What?”**

**“It’s gonna be okay.”**

**“Is it?”**

**“I’m gonna make this okay.”**

“Hurry, Pepper!” Steve knew Tony was fine and had survived this but he was still concerned that Pepper was wasting precious seconds.

**“Let’s hope.”**

**Pepper bent over Tony’s chest and starts to put the new copper wiring into the plate.**

**“Okay, you’re gonna attach that to the base plate and make sure-” Tony was cut off as she made the attachment.**

**“YEOOOW!” The heart monitor stopped beeping rapidly. “Was that so hard? That was fun, right?”**

Most of them breathed a sigh of relief as the Arc Reactor was attached in place.

“I don’t think Pepper thought that was fun,” glared Clint. “I’m surprised she didn’t walk out after having to put her hand in your chest.”

“Clint…” Steve’s voice was low, warning the archer to stop.

Clint stood up; his arms folded across his chest. “He didn’t even ask her properly. He just expected her to do it! What kind of boss gets his PA to do something so… Not of their skill set? I would never ask Laura to partake in something like… that!”

“I couldn’t trust anyone else,” replied Tony, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference.

“Still not acceptable behaviour,” raged Clint, moving to sit down again.

Rhodey sighed. “Maybe when this is all over, all of you should talk to Pepper and see how she really felt?”

Clint’s expression slightly softened. “I think we can do that, but it doesn’t mean I won’t continue to judge him for his actions.”

**As Pepper let the rest of the new Arc Reactor down into the socket, Tony took it from her. “Here, I do it. I got it.”**

**Pepper’s hands are wet and slimy as Tony made the final connections, fixing the Arc Reactor in place. “Nice.”**

**“Are you okay?” Pepper’s eyes were wide, her hands still dripping.**

**“Yeah, I feel great!” Tony enthused. “You okay?”**

“At least I checked up on her,” Tony pointed out.

Clint ignored him.

**Her breathing was calming as Tony laughed. A stern look crossed her beautiful face. “Don’t ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again.”**

**“I don’t have anyone but you,” admitted Tony, looking at her sincerely.**

“I didn’t.” Tony’s shoulders slagged.

A hand landed on his shoulder. “Hey, no matter what the others say, I’m here for you,” Rhodey reassured him.

“I know.” Tony wilted. 

**They stared at one another, both of them coming to the same conclusion. They didn’t have anybody else. Tony shrugged and gave her a half-smile. “Anyway…” Tony pulled off the monitoring wires and climbing out of the chair whilst Pepper wiped her hands clean.**

“Awkward,” grinned Sam. “You two fancied one another for a long time, yet you were constrained by being boss and employee.”

“Pepper was excellent at deflecting me,” mused Tony. “The only PA who stood her ground. Any PA who jumped into bed with their boss as soon as he hits on them, isn’t worth keeping around.”

“You sacked them?” Steve was horrified. “After sleeping with them?”

“No. I had them transferred to another department. Many of the people I had as PA’s before Pepper applied because they wanted to sleep with me. I indulged them. But I never had them sacked for it. I do look after my employees,” explained Tony.

“And, Pepper, never applied to be Tony’s PA either,” Rhodey pointed out.

“She didn’t?” Wanda was surprised by this news. “Then how did she get to where she was?”

“Pepper worked in finance. She spotted an error in the budget. Went to her supervisor who explicitly told her, ‘Mr. Stark does not make mistakes’, and told her to leave it. Pepper refused and decided to go above her superior to Tony himself. She didn’t have an appointment to meet him. Security was called… She had a can of pepper-spray and defended herself with it,” grinned Rhodey. “Poor Happy.”

Tony picked up the reminiscent. “I heard the commotion and came out of my office to see Pepper had pepper-sprayed my security guards because she was trying to force her way in and they wouldn’t let her without an appointment. I wanted to know why she had done that, and she explained to me her reasons. I had made a mathematical error with the budget. I corrected it and promoted her to my PA. I used to make little errors, looking for people who were not afraid to pick me upon them. Pepper was the first one to act on it. She was promoted because she was intuitive and wasn’t afraid to stick to her guns to make sure the company didn’t lose money.”

“Stark Industries wouldn’t have lost money anyway,” added Rhodey. “Tony always tracked any deliberate errors he had made and altered them before they were officially processed. He was looking for the best of the best to be his new PA. Pepper was unique. No one dared questioned Tony’s equations, mathematics, pricing… Nobody. Until her.”

Tony fidgeted in his seat. “To be fair to Pep, the mistake I made wasn’t one I intended to make. If that mistake had gone through, the company would have lost millions.”

“It was luck the error was caught and it was Pepper who happened to pick up on it then,” mused Bruce.

“Pretty much,” Tony confirmed. “I knew I could trust her to keep me grounded.” He glanced at Wanda. “That’s how Pepper became my PA.”

Wanda couldn’t help be surprised with how Pepper had become Stark’s PA. Stark had rewarded her with a better position within the company for her dedication to her previous role, and had risked her position to make sure the company hadn’t made a catastrophic loss. It stunned her a bit. A small part of her began to wonder if maybe all she knew about Tony Stark was mired in falsehoods and untruths. Had she misjudged him? _It doesn’t change the fact he’s still responsible for killing my parents._

Despite this, Wanda still felt her feelings soften slightly.

**Gathering the old Arc Reactor in her hands, Pepper turned to face Tony. “What do you want me to do with this?”**

**Tony glanced at it and then dismissed it. “That? Destroy it. Incinerate it.” His fingers taped his new Arc Reactor.**

“You’re not one for nostalgia, are you?” commented Steve lightly.

“Never been me, Rogers.”

**“You don’t want to keep it?”**

**“Pepper, I’ve been called many things. Nostalgic isn’t one of them.”**

**“Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”**

**“That will be all, Miss Potts.” Tony walked away, instructing his robot, Butterfingers to clear his stuff off of his desk and put it in the garbage.**

**As Pepper walked away, Tony cast his gaze back as she left, once again tapping the new Arc Reactor in his chest.**

Sam shifted in his seat. He hadn’t criticised Tony throughout the swapping the Reactor scene. “You know… I may not like how you do speak to people, Stark… but you’re not appearing to be the person I have been led to believe.” The former soldier glanced at Wanda and then at Steve.

Wanda avoided Sam’s gaze and Steve’s cheeks went red, but neither of them spoke.

“I think watching all of these movies will give us an entirely different opinion of you. What we saw of you before this, isn’t who you really are,” continued Sam.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air after Sam’s words, but Tony couldn’t help but be grateful that Sam Wilson was giving him a chance.

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> I think the idea SHIELD was looking for Tony in Afghanistan is probably quite accurate. Tony was a security risk to the US because he would know secrets, would be in a position to betray his country if he chose to. I think it is likely if Tony's location had been discovered, SHIELD agents may have tried to infiltrate and assassinate or rescue him if possible. But, since Tony was a security risk, it would be more likely to be an assassination. And, the assassination was ordered by Alexander Peirce, who is above Fury, and is HYDRA, eliminating a potential threat this way. 
> 
> Sam is starting to realise everything he knew about Tony may have been misguided and he is willing to give him the chance now. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted next Sunday! 
> 
> Until then,  
> the-writer1988


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint continues to be stubborn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Thank you for all the comments so far. 
> 
> There should be 9 chapters in total for this story.

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Six**

**There was a brief shot of an Air Force plane taxiing along the runway before they saw Rhodey talking to a group of cadets about the future of air combat. He was leading them through the hanger, explaining how in his view an unmanned aerial vehicle will never be better than a pilot’s instinct.**

“Unless they are controlled by JARVIS or FRIDAY,” pointed out Tony knowingly. His AI’s had successfully controlled the Iron Legion. JARVIS, before he had integrated into what would become Vision, hadn’t only just been responsible for controlling and manning the Iron Legion, he had also had a large amount of control over _Stark Industries_ internal servers, giving him more control over the company than anyone else apart from Pepper.

Rhodey had to concede. “Point. We would never have stopped Aldrich Killian without JARVIS.”

Tony twisted in his seat to look at Vision. “I know you’re not JARVIS, and you are your own person… but… thanks for everything you did as JARVIS.”

“You’re welcome, sir,” replied Vision, gesturing his head downwards in a mark of respect. 

**Tony walked up behind him asking him why not a pilot without the plane. The Inventor was dressed casually. Rhodey shook his hand and introduced Tony to the cadets. Tony advised the cadets to try to get Rhodey to tell them about spring break in 1987 and the lovely lady he had woken up with. Tony continued to imply that the woman had been a man. Rhodey told him not to continue and Tony obliged.**

“Did they ever ask you about Spring Break?” queried Bruce.

“No. They didn’t.” Rhodey had been relieved the cadets had never dared to ask him. He would have had Tony’s head if they had.

Tony grinned. “Shame. It’s a _great_ story.”

“Can we hear it?” Thor seemed quite eager to hear it. “Tales of drunken nights and fair ladies are just some of the many stories we used to tell on…” His face fell. “On Asgard…” His voice was lower and his jubilant expression had changed.

“Thor, are you alright?” Steve asked, a look of concern across his face.

“I’m fine.” Thor’s voice was stronger.

Bruce threw him a worried look but didn’t say anything else.

**The cadets walked away when Rhodey asked them to give him and Tony a few minutes.**

**Rhodey was surprised to see Tony as he hadn’t expected him to be walking around so soon.**

“You believed the press, didn’t you?!” Tony queried. “That I was laid up in bed?”

Rhodey was embarrassed. “You kept quiet for weeks. Didn’t stay in contact.”

“Neither did you.” Tony pointed out. “I know you were upset about the decision I made with stopping weapons production…”

“I was,” admitted Rhodey. He shook his head. “I should have contacted you… I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Tony was about to accept his apology but Steve decided to butt in.

“Rhodey, there is no need of you need for you to apologise. You did nothing wrong,” interjected Steve.

Sam put his head in his heads, probably surprised by Steve’s daring to interrupt and declare no apology was needed.

“Shut up, Steve,” hissed Bucky.

“Why? By stopping weapon’s production, Tony upset a lot of people. He should be the one apologising! He let people down!”

Sam laid a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “That isn’t how it works _in this case_ , Steve.”

Tony was intrigued. Sam’s reactions to what he was seeing were enlightening. He wanted to see where this went before stating his own thoughts.

Steve was waiting for Sam to continue.

“Think of what Stark has gone through, what he has witnessed. His best friend didn’t speak to him despite spending months searching for him. Stark was the one who suffered. Seeing the terrorists with his own weapons hurt him. He didn’t want them getting their hands on them at all, not ever again. Stopping weapons production was the only way,” explained Sam. “He could have done things differently, but Rhodey is supposed to be Tony’s friend. He should have considered how much Afghanistan had affected him and supported him through his recovery.”

“Sam’s right, Steve,” interjected Rhodey. “I didn’t really think of how Tony was dealing with things after his captivity. I just assumed he would be fine as he seemed okay each time, I spoke to him. I didn’t look deeper, and I shouldn’t have stayed away because I was unhappy with his decision about withdrawing from weapons manufacturing. And… Tony’s decision could have affected my career, my job with _Stark Industries_. I was liaison because I knew Tony and could get the best deal from him. My reputation with my co-workers could have been put at risk because I hadn’t warned them in advance…” He caught Tony’s eyes. “But I never told you that, what your decision could have meant from me personally and professionally.” 

Thoughtfully, Steve nodded. “I guess it makes sense.”

Tony decided now would be the time to speak. “I should have gone about it differently. I should have involved the board before making an announcement. I should have spoken to the military. I should have talked to Rhodey, explained why I had to stop weapons production. Instead, I acted out because I wanted it to stop straight away. We’re both at fault, and we’re both sorry.” Because he was. On reflection, Tony should have done things differently, but it had all worked out in the end.

**Tony implied he was doing a little bit better than walking. Tony informed his friend that he was working on something big. He wanted Rhodey to be a part of it.**

**Rhodey assumed Tony was about to make a lot of people in the military happy, assuming he had reversed his decision to stop weapon production.**

**Tony admitted it wasn’t for the military.**

**The Colonel accused him of being a humanitarian and told Tony he needed time to get his mind right.**

“See,” Rhodey pointed out, “I shouldn’t have said that. “What type of friend tells his best friend they need to get their mind right? I just… wasn’t… thinking properly then.” Rhodey’s shoulders sagged.

“Rhodey, it is fine,” reassured Tony.

Rhodey wasn’t so sure but he gave Tony a grateful smile.

**Tony smiled, hoping Rhodey wasn’t going to continue to rebuff him like this, however his friend disappointed him. Tony merely nodded, his smile fading. Rhodey stepped back informing Tony it was nice to see him. Tony merely said ‘thanks’ quietly.**

“We didn’t talk for a while did we, after this?” Tony mused, thinking back.

“We didn’t. I don’t think either of us wanted to,” verified Rhodey. “In fact… the next time we spoke was when-” He stopped, realising it was likely it would be shown. They’d gone months…

“Was when?” queried Sam.

“A while…” replied Rhodey, a bit embarrassed.

“A few months then,” Steve deduced.

Tony knew. Rhodey had called him when Tony had been in the air in Afghanistan, hunting down his weapons to stop the terrorists from using them against innocent people. That had happened a few months later. Everything had gone back to normal after Obadiah’s betrayal as Rhodey had accepted why Tony had stopped weapon’s production and what he offered the military instead.

Tony had spent months working with the military as Iron Man. Through that time, Rhodey and Tony had rebuilt the trust in their friendship and had become closer for it. Rhodey had been Tony’s backer to the military, had urged them to trust him.

Their friendship may have suffered in the months following Tony’s captivity, but Obadiah’s betrayal had brought them back together. 

**At Tony’s Malibu mansion, Tony swiped his hand over his desktop, bringing up a virtual keyboard, more advanced than on standard computers. He started to press several keystrokes, asking if Jarvis was up. JARVIS responded he always was for him.**

“You never slept?” Wanda directed the question at Vision.

The android nodded. “I didn’t need to. JARVIS kept everything secure, already monitoring everything. Even now I do not need to sleep myself. I’m always on alert.”

**Tony leaned back in his chair, his eyes focused on the two screens, one of which had schematics of the first Iron Man suit on it. The other screen was streaming data. Tony said he wanted to open up a new project file and to index it as Mark II. He picked up a computer pen to drag the schematics onto a holographic board. JARVIS asked if he wanted the designs stored on the Stark Industries Central Database.**

**“Actually, I don’t know who to trust right now.”**

Rhodey looked uncomfortable.

“You didn’t trust Stane either?” asked Sam.

Tony nodded. “I didn’t. I did before Afghanistan. Not as much as I trusted Pepper or Rhodey. Stane didn’t have full clearance to enter my workshop either… but after finding out the Ten Rings had my weapons; I didn’t know who I could really trust within my own company. Stane included.”

**Tony got up from his chair and approached the holographic board, enlarging the image. “Until further notice, why not keep everything on my private server?”**

“You had to be careful,” noted Steve. “You didn’t want this design falling into the wrong hands.”

“I didn’t.” _Though it didn’t stop Stane in the slightest,_ mused Tony.

**JARVIS enquired if Tony was working on a secret project; to which Tony didn’t respond but he stood in front of the image, inspecting the open-up display of the Iron Man helmet and started to move things to the trash can in the corner of the display.**

**“I don’t want this winding up in the wrong hands.”**

**Tony rotated the display around, continuing to reject stuff from the design. Tony mused quietly, twisting the design front of the suit to face him. “Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good.”**

Clint snorted, rolling his eyes. “Does ‘do some good’ mean betraying your teammates? Sending them to prison, Stark?”

Tony gritted his teeth together. “That. Wasn’t. Me.” He was trying his best to hold his temper in check. He was waiting for Wanda’s bitter remark but none came, but she was biting her lower lip.

“You put Wanda in that collar!” grated Clint, his expression dark as he clenched his fists on the fabric of the sofa. “You put us all in jail! You collaborated with…” Clint spat. “Him!”

“Who is ‘him’?” queried Bruce, wondering if they may get some answers now due to Clint’s outburst.

Tony sighed, running a hand down his face. “You won’t like it, Bruce. Thaddeus Ross.”

“WHAT?” Bruce’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

He did not want to be having this conversation right now.

“Things… got complicated after Ultron,” admitted Tony. “My fault.”

“Too right,” muttered Clint under his breath. “Your actions led to the Accords!”

But Sam stepped in. “Clint, the Accords were not made to keep Stark in check. It wasn’t just Ultron that led to the world wanting them. It was other things too. We can’t blame Stark for everything.” He sighed. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. So has Steve. We have to consider how we acted as well. All of us made mistakes, even you. To blame Stark for your imprisonment is…”

“Is wrong,” finished Steve. “I asked you to leave your family, Clint. You wouldn’t have been involved if I hadn’t dragged you away from them.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Was Steve _finally_ admitting he was at fault? That he did have some responsibility to what had happened to the Avengers? “We all made mistakes,” he finally said.

The archer glared at Tony. “No, Stark, _you_ made mistakes. The rest of us _didn’t_.”

“How is Mr. Stark at fault for you breaking the law?” interjected Vision, genuinely curious as to how Clint had come to this conclusion.

“Because the Accords only came about because of _him_!” Clint pointed rudely at Tony.

Tony sighed. “The Accords didn’t happen overnight. They were labelled the ‘Sokovia Accords’ but there was already legislation being discussed, and meetings being held about the Avengers before Ultron happened. Do you think the world took kindly to the secrets of SHIELD being dumped all over the internet? They didn’t. It put a lot of people’s lives in danger, even those who were not involved with SHIELD! Sokovia was the incident that pushed the Accords quicker, but they were already in motion after SHIELD fell.”

“They’re still named the Sokovia Accords,” muttered Clint. “Still your fault. The Accords should never have applied to the rest of us. Unlike you, Stark, we do things _right_.”

“Over a hundred countries think you are wrong, Barton.” Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Amazing how you cannot see how the countries support Tony and call on him for aid, rather than go to a bunch of criminals who do not respect their sovereign right to determine who should cross into their lands and give them aid.”

“They’d call on us if they knew we were there,” said Steve.

“Unbelievable.” Rhodey shook his head in despair.

“Are we expected to take sides when we finally see what happened?” asked Thor. “There are two sides. Bruce and I are stuck in the middle.”

Sam sighed, casting his gaze around. “Honestly, its better if you just stay neutral. What happened… I think it may have irreversibly damaged some friendships for good.” His gaze focused briefly on Steve and Tony.

“Just have an open mind,” added Tony. “It’s better that way.” 

**A group of men walked through the desert, some kneeling as they dug up pieces of the abandoned Iron Man suit, Tony had left behind. They carried each piece to a truck to take away. One man picked up the helmet; sand fell out through the eyes and mouth slits. The man yelled in another language.**

**Raza turned in the hot sun to reveal a scorching burn mark on the right side of his face. The man handed Raza the helmet and he studied it intently.**

“That isn’t good…” muttered Steve. “Last thing the world needs is people like him going around in Iron Man suits.”

“Good thing he didn’t then,” confirmed Tony.

“But something came of the armour’s discovery, didn’t it?” Sam noted.

Tony inclined his head in answer. “Yes.”

**In his workshop, Tony was working on a piece of the new Iron Man suit he was designing. More specifically, the boot. He tried to instruct Dummy to stay in a certain position, as the robot was attempting to help its creator, however, Tony soon declared DUM-E was no benefit at all and to move down to the toes.**

“DUM-E always wanted to help,” mused Tony, “but he always frustrated me. He had very limited… programming. His intelligence could not be upgraded without rewriting his entire system. He wouldn’t have been DUM-E if I’d gone through with it.”

“How many times have you threatened to dismantle him?” laughed Rhodey.

“Too many.” Tony winced. DUM-E had the ability to do most things wrong, even the simple task of getting him a cup of coffee. But he still loved him. DUM-E was part of his family as much as Rhodey was. If it came to it, he probably wouldn’t ever make do on his threats.

“I can recall more than ten thousand instances, sir,” Vision promptly stated.

“Now, that is scary you still have the numbers,” swallowed Tony. _And he’s not the JARVIS I know either._

Steve frowned. “And a bit worrying you treat your creations like that.”

Tony elected not to say anything in reply.

**Tony continued to weld before moving to the forefoot, telling DUM-E to move up and then not even to move. He finished welding and Tony pushed a button and the back of the boot opened up.**

_Now for the tests…_ Tony was sure the movie would show his first test with the boots. It… hadn’t gone well.

**Tony was being recorded. He was wearing a boot on each foot and guards on his arms and in both hands, he held two metal handlebars out in front of him.**

**“Okay, let’s do this right.” Tony stepped back into the testing square. “Start mark, half-a-meter, and back and centre.”**

**The camera zoomed in.**

**“Dummy, look alive!” instructed Tony. “You’re on standby for fire safety.”**

Rhodey put his head in his hands. “This is not going to go well, is it?”

Tony kept a straight face, already knowing what was coming. He was sure Clint would gloat when he saw Tony slam into the wall, face-first.

“Did you always test your designs?” asked Wanda, her voice low.

“I do. It’s the mark of a good designer to be your own guinea-pig,” shrugged Tony. “Most of the designs I tested on myself. I was heavily involved with all the design work with _Stark Industries._ ” He knew what he was about to say was a touchy subject for Wanda, but it needed to be said. “Even the weapons I designed were tested at secure sites where they could be used to determine the safety aspects of each. They were only passed into production if they met all the requirements. And, I was very stringent with my pass results. It’s how I know the missiles used in Sokovia were not genuine. Everything you considered to be true regarding my involvement with the unrest in Sokovia was not me. It has never been me. But it was my complacency that led to illegal Stark weapons being used. And, I’ve been trying to atone for it ever since.”

Wanda looked thoughtful.

**Tony looks over his shoulder towards the camera. “YOU. Roll it.”**

“You have some odd names for your robots,” said Bucky. “DUM-E and YOU?”

“I’m not exactly normal, Barnes,” commented Tony.

“He’s right,” interjected Rhodey. “Tony has never been normal.”

Clint muttered underneath his breath. “You can say that again…”

Steve looked torn between reprimanding Clint or agreeing with him.

“In this instance, Rogers, the criticism is fair,” explained Tony, speaking softly. “A genius can never be normal.”

**The camera zoomed out.**

**“Okay. Activate hand controls.” There were sounds of powering up as Tony jiggled on his feet, hands out in front of him clutching the hand controls. “We’re gonna start off nice and easy. 10% thrust capacity.” Tony began to countdown. “And… 3… 2…1!”**

**A surge of power propelled Tony into the air. He flipped head over heels and he banged into the ceiling, falling with a crash to the floor.**

Everyone burst out laughing, including Rhodey, whilst Tony hang his head in shame. “I was… a bit overzealous in thinking 10% wasn’t going to be too powerful.”

Clint was whooping with delight. “Can we see that again, please? Seeing Stark make an arse of himself has made my day!”

Tony tried to ignore it.

“We cannot rewind it,” said Steve, trying the remote. “Button isn’t working.”

_Thank god._ Tony was relieved.

Clint folded his arms across his chest. He didn’t look pleased.

_You are not here to take the piss out of Tony Stark, but rather to understand who he is and what he has gone through for him to make the choices he did. It is vital you understand this, Barton._ The voice, which had stayed silent through the movie so far spoke up. _I did not bring you here for you to continue hating him. You will learn. And you will regret your words later._

“Unlikely,” commented Clint.

The voice laughed. _Oh, if only you knew the truth… At least, to my surprise, Wanda Maximoff, is seeing things differently._

“I am,” admitted the Witch. “My hatred isn’t gone but I’m beginning to understand that perhaps what I believed was fact, was merely manipulation by others.”

_You may grow on me yet, Wanda Maximoff._

The voice fell silent and the group resumed watching in silence as **Dummy sprayed Tony with the fire extinguisher before the scene changed to Tony sitting at his desktop adjusting the arm portions of the suit, drinking tea, and then using the holotable to review the new designs. He slipped his arm into the digital tube where a ball of light fit comfortably in his hand, symbolising what would become the first flight stabiliser.**

“Several weeks are going by, aren’t they?” asked Sam. “You didn’t make the suit in a few days, did you?”

“No.” Tony shook his head. “The first design of the full suit took months. All the time we’re seeing now was over days and weeks. Now I can design an Iron Man suit in less than a week and have it manufactured within the hour. But the original suit took a while. It had to be suited for what I imagined it to be.”

“And you tried to tell me about it and I didn’t want to know,” mourned Rhodey.

Tony clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s fine. Stop mopping about it.”

His friend smiled gratefully at him. 

**Tony’s arm was now encased in the metal skeleton he had earlier designed, and was examining it when Pepper let herself into his workshop. She was carrying a parcel and a cup. Tony finished setting the arm into place around his own as Pepper approached.**

**“I’ve been buzzing you,” she said. “Did you hear the intercom?”**

**“Yeah,” said Tony distractedly. “Everything’s – what?” He fiddled with something on the arm.**

**“Obadiah’s upstairs,” mentioned Pepper.**

**“Great.”**

**“What would you like me to tell him?” she enquired.**

**“Great,” repeated Tony, “I’ll be right up.” He straightened up, the arm encased in the metal and wire casing held out in front of him, his palm holding the stabilizer as he pointed it towards the wall.**

“I can already see this going wrong,” grinned Rhodey.

“You’re not wrong,” whispered Tony, avoiding looking at Clint.

“Trial and error are common in new inventions,” explained Bruce. “But you ironed out all the kinks quite quickly to get a working suit within months.”

“I’m still improving them.” Tony hadn’t stopped. The suit still wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t enough to protect the Earth from what was out there. Something bad was coming. He could feel it.

And he still wasn’t ready for it.

**Pepper approached his desk. “I thought you said you were done making weapons?”**

“Isn’t the Iron Man suit a weapon?” Clint pointed out, a glint in his eye.

“All the upgrades I’ve given you over the years – free of charge, I might add – are they not weapons too? And haven’t they all been useful in helping others?” Tony threw back.

Clint glowered, muttering incomprehensibly under his breath.

One could categorise the Iron Man suit as a weapon but Tony didn’t believe it was. It was a defence against a wider threat. Something he could use to help protect others.

_It can be both a weapon and a defence,_ thought Tony.

That was the way he saw it. 

**“It is,” Tony swallowed, managing to hold the arm up, despite the heaviness. “This is a flight stabilizer. It’s completely harmless.” He was breathless as he leaned forward to press a button.**

**The stabilizer fired and Tony went flying back, crashing into equipment. Pepper covered her ears and winced.**

**“I didn’t expect that…” wheezed Tony, surprise dripping from his voice.**

Rhodey chuckled. “I really wish I could have been there for all your attempts to make it work.”

Tony shrugged. “It wasn’t meant to be. I would have taken advice and ideas from you if you had been there. But I think it is better it all came from me. The suit became what I wanted it to specifically be.” Then an idea struck him. “Tell you what, I’m designing the Mark 50 right now. You can come along to my lab and see what the differences are between Mark 49 and 50.”

“When this is over with,” pointed out Rhodey, referring to the marathon of movies they had to watch.

“Obviously.” Tony agreed. 

**Obadiah sat playing the piano as Tony ran up the stairs from his workshop. Pepper was sitting on the sofa working. Tony wanted to know how Stane’s meeting had gone. By the expression Stane gave him, it hadn’t gone well. Stane countered that just because he had brought Pizza back didn’t mean it had gone badly.**

“He’s just covering for himself,” Sam pointed out. “The meeting went badly.”

Tony was impressed by how Sam was analysing things.

**Tony sat down, opening the pizza box. Stane informed him the meeting would have gone better if Tony had been there.**

**Tony said Stane had asked him to lay low and that was what he had been doing, as Obadiah would take care of it all.**

“He did,” commented Steve. “They wouldn’t have expected you to turn up. Surely if it was a meeting you should have been at, Stane should have told you?”

“You would have thought that, wouldn’t you?” replied Tony warily. Stane had down his best to manoeuvre Tony out of a position of power. He had nearly succeeded, only to fail at the last hurdle. 

**Stane walked forward. He elaborated that he meant in public, the press, not on the business side of things as the meeting had been a Board of Directors one. Stane sat next to Tony.**

Rhodey winced. “Ouch. You should have been there for that one.”

“I know. But he was very clear on what he wanted me to do. If he really wanted me involved in the business side of things, he would have kept me informed. For the most part, I was kept in the dark. Even Pepper wasn’t kept up to date with internal information. And she was my P.A and should have been kept within the loop, even though I was off keeping a low profile. Pepper had access to my work emails.”

“So, you were kept out of things deliberately,” mused Bruce, “to make you look worse.”

“I don’t trust Stane.” Steve’s face darkened. “There’s something… off about him.”

**Tony was stunned.**

**Stane explained the Board was claiming Tony had post-traumatic stress disorder, and they were filing an injunction. The Board wanted to lock Tony out.**

“They wanted to get rid of you?” Steve was stunned.

“I was endangering the company if I stayed in charge. Even though I owned the controlling interest in the company, if enough people stood against me, they could have me removed, providing all matters were resolved on a legal basis,” explained Tony.

**Tony couldn’t believe they wanted to do this to him just because the stocks dropped 40 points. They had known this was going to happen after Tony’s bombshell announcement.**

**Pepper corrected him and said the stocks dropped by 56 and a half.**

Sam swallowed. “That’s a lot of dropped stock…”

Tony winced, scratching the back of his neck. “It was. But I hoped to salvage it when they realised the idea had merit… but I had to prove it to them first that I knew what I was doing.”

**Tony said it didn’t matter as they owned the controlling interest in the company.**

**Stane tried to reason that the Board had rights too, and that they were making the case that Tony and the new direction he was aiming for wasn’t in the company’s best interest.**

Steve frowned. “You know… I’m just thinking… Stane has never been on board with this… It wasn’t the board who filed the injunction was it?”

Tony eyed the Captain. “You’ll find out.” He was surprised by how perceptive Steve was.

**Wiping his face with a napkin, Tony told Stane he was being responsible, and that was a new direction for the company and for himself.**

**Stane was trying not to laugh.**

A hard expression crossed Rhodey’s face. “He doesn’t believe it.” He was one of the only people who really knew what had happened to Obadiah.

“Of course, he wouldn’t,” observed Natasha. “He wants Stark to fail.”

**Tony tried to elaborate further. He was trying to be responsible on the company’s behalf, however, he stopped when he realised it was pointless to counter the argument.**

“I just knew at that point there was no point in trying to rationalise what I was trying to achieve,” sighed Tony. “They were either going to be with me or against me.”

**Tony ate a piece of pizza.**

**Stane tried to stop Tony from walking away with the pizza box, and Obadiah reached for Tony explaining he was trying to turn this thing around but Tony had to give him something to pitch them. He pointed to the Arc Reactor in Tony’s chest. He wanted the engineers to analyse it but Tony refused.**

Steve frowned. “He’s up to something.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “There is something fishy about him.”

“The Arc Reactor is keeping you alive,” said Bucky. “Surely his first priority is to keep you safe.”

Tony grimaced. “You would have thought that, wouldn’t you?”

**Stane countered that it would give him something to throw the Board in New York, however Tony was adamant that the Arc Reactor would remain with him. Stane took the pizza box from Tony, deciding it would stay with him, however, he did offer Tony another piece, which he took before walking back towards his workshop.**

**Stane asked if he could see what Tony was doing down there but was refused.**

“How many times did you let him into your workshop?” queried Rhodey. “I can only remember a few times…”

“I think… twice?” clarified Tony quietly so the others couldn’t hear. “I don’t know why I never let him down there. I think it was because I just didn’t want him influencing my designs. In the early years, he did try to attempt it, long before I set up my lab. I think a part of me couldn’t trust him. Only you and Pepper were ever given access.”

**Tony was back in the workshop, wearing arm thrusters and boots. It was day eleven, test thirty-seven, configuration two-point-zero, and DUM-E was still on fire safety. Tony warned DUM-E that if he was dosed when he wasn’t on fire, he would donate the robot to a city college.**

**Tony leaned forward; knees slightly bent. “Okay, nice and easy. Seriously, just gonna start off with one percent thrust capacity.”**

Clint crossed his fingers, hoping everything would go wrong for Tony’s next test.

Steve frowned, catching the small movement by the archer. He thought Clint was being too harsh on Stark.

**He took a deep breath. “In three, two, one…” The boots and the stabilisers in his hands roared to life, lifting Tony into the air. He nearly lost balance, throwing his arms out to maintain his position. He rose about three metres off the ground, hovering there, very gently swaying to the left and right, before Tony started to descend to land squarely on his feet, arms outstretched.**

“Ah, a successful test, my friend!” Thor cheered.

“It had to happen sometimes,” admitted Tony. “I will always keep trying until I get the outcome I want.”

**“Okay.” Tony glanced at Dummy and noticed he had the fire extinguisher pointed at him. “Please don’t follow me around with it either, ‘cause I feel like I’m gonna catch fire spontaneously. Just stand down! If something happens, then come in.”**

**DUM-E retracted meekly.**

**Tony braced himself. “And again. Let’s bring it up to two-point-five. Three – two – one.”**

“You know it works, why are you testing again?” questioned Thor.

“Tony needs to see how far he can push the thrusters in lifting off without hurting himself,” explained Bruce.

“We can program the suit to start off at different speeds. For the most part, thrust triggers are used to get us into the air as quickly as possible, especially when we need to leave an area pronto or pursue a fast-moving target,” said Rhodey, explaining to the others what his suit was capable of achieving. “My suit isn’t as versatile as Tony’s is. He has a lot more features installed than mine does. But his mind can process it quicker. A lot of thought has to go into using our suits. It may look easy but it isn’t.” 

Tony was glad Rhodey had spared him the necessity of having to explain things.

**The thrusters and the stabilisers fired once more and Tony gained higher altitude, however, he also had a hard time controlling the direction he floated in.**

“Very easy to lose control the first few times. Once I got used to the suit’s abilities, I was a lot more comfortable with it,” noted Tony.

**His momentum pushed him over towards the white sports cars, an area he didn’t want to be. Managing to alter his direction, though still not in much control, paperwork on Tony’s desk scattered everywhere as he flew over it. The effort was exhausting to maintain some control and Tony planted his hands forward to send him backward, trying to redirect himself back to the testing area.**

“Mind the cars!” cried Sam, clutching his head.

“He can afford new ones!” grated Clint.

“Most of them are out of production,” pointed out Bruce, casting a worried look at Clint, concerned by the archer’s dislike of Tony. “Not easy to replace if you are a collector of old cars.”

**“Could be worse,” he muttered, “we’re fine. Okay.” Finally, he was back over the testing area and started to descend, landing on his feet. Dummy raised the fire extinguisher. Emphatically, Tony raised his right hand. “No! Uh-uh-uh-uh!”**

**DUM-E lowered his arm.**

**Relieved, Tony knew he had succeeded in setting out what he had wanted to achieve. “Yeah. I can fly.”**

“Oh no…” Rhodey guessed. “You’re going to go all out, aren’t you?”

Tony tried to look innocent. “Now why would I do that?”

“Because it's you, Tones.”

Wanda was curious. “‘Go all out’?”

“He’s going to get in the completed suit and fly it without running the appropriate tests first.” Rhodey was sure about it. “It’s the type of thing he does.”

Tony grinned sheepishly. He’d never much cared about his personal safety. And taking the suit for its first full flight had seemed a good idea at the time, even without the appropriate tests being run.

**Tony stepped into the Iron Man suit as it was screwed onto his body. The suit was silver but easily recognisable. The mask slid into place and the face-plate slid down, obscuring Tony’s vision from the outside world.**

**He asked if JARVIS was there. The AI replied he was and Tony ordered him to engage the Heads-Up Display. Bright lights flashed as the Heads-Up Display booted up, Information scrolled passed as Tony turned his head slightly in different directions, inspecting the interface. He asked JARVIS to import all preferences from the home interface.**

“WOAH!” Sam whistled. “How can you keep track of everything in front of your eyes?” His eyes dazzled at the screen as they saw the amount of information scrolling across the readout.

“I’m used to absorbing a lot of information at once and processing,” stated Tony.

“Basically, you’re a human version of your AI then?” questioned Bucky.

Tony nodded. “You could say that.”

**Casting his gaze around the garage, the interface continually gave him information about the objects and exits within the garage. Tony walked slowly forward. JARVIS informed him that he was fully uploaded and he was online and ready.**

“Tony,” Steve started, “JARVIS was the backup, wasn’t he? In case something happened to you?”

“He was. JARVIS was able to take control if I was incapacitated, and as long as there was the power to the suit from the Arc Reactor.”

“Could he interface with Rhodey?” Natasha asked, glancing at Tony’s best friend.

“JARVIS wasn’t installed within War Machine,” spoke Vision. “He could communicate with the suit when the long-range transmitters were functioning.”

“War Machine’s functions are not as sophisticated as Iron Man’s are.” Rhodey glanced towards the genius. “No matter how much I bug him, Tony won’t upgrade mine to the standard of his.”

Before anyone could say anything against Tony for his stance on Rhodey’s suit, he decided to explain why. “I do not want my technology falling into the wrong hands. The War Machine suit is the simplest suit I could make. The Military could study the suit – and I’m sure they have had people work on it.”

“They have,” Rhodey confirmed.

“It’s to stop them from finding out the secrets of the suit. Better for me to have it in case the wrong people utilise it.”

“It’s a fair point,” agreed Steve.

**Tony wanted to start the virtual walk around. JARVIS imported the preferences and calibrated the virtual environment. Tony smiled gently inside the mask. He wanted a check on the control surfaces which JARVIS complied with.**

**Pieces on the armour began to move, adjusting themselves from the legs up, as Tony flexed his hands within the suit. The suit was bolting together, completely silver. Tony looked around, blue light shining from the slits in his eyes.**

“Suiting up is almost instantaneous now,” grinned Tony, thinking of the new suit he was currently designing.

**JARVIS announced the test was complete and he was preparing to power down and begin diagnostics.**

**However, Tony had other ideas. “Oh, yeah. Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control.”**

**JARVIS tried to dissuade him. “Sir, there are terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is attempted.”**

Bucky cocked his head to the side. “Why did you try to convince him otherwise?” He directed the question at Vision.

“JARVIS was programmed specifically to follow Mr. Stark’s orders; however, his main function was to protect Mr. Stark, but what Mr. Stark wanted to do could not be overridden by the programmes of JARVIS. JARVIS was duty-bound to lay out the risks for Mr. Stark, but could not overrule him.”

“JARVIS could protest all he wanted, but he could not stop me, only tell me the risks and give me advice. It was up to me to decide whether to follow it or not,” added Tony.

**“JARVIS. Sometimes you got to run before you can walk. Ready? In three, two, one.”**

“But not do what you were planning to do Tony,” interjected Rhodey. “You could have hurt yourself without those safety tests.”

He did have a point.

**Boot and hand thrusters fired lifting Tony off the floor. He leaned forward, increased thrusters and he sped out, steering out of the garage driveway and out into the night, flying high, twisting around. Tony whooped with joy.**

**He lopped back on himself. “Handles like a dream.”**

**He flew past a Ferris wheel and on his heads-up display he saw two young children eating ice cream as they sat in one of the carts. The display showed the wheel on the right side of his heads-up display. The little boy’s ice cream fell off the cone as Tony zoomed past.**

Tony could still remember the jubilant feelings he had felt at being let loose, being able to fly where he wanted, go as fast as he liked… and not have a care in the world, and allow the suit to take him to places he had never visited before.

It had been thrilling, exciting.

The sensations and memories of his first flight were something he would never forget.

**Heading out over the city, Tony directed the suit straight up. “All right, let’s see what this can do. What’s the SR-71’s record?”**

**JARVIS informed him the altitude recorded for fixed-wing flight was 85,000 feet.**

Sam groaned. “I really hope you are not going to attempt what I think you are…”

“He will,” sniggered Natasha. “He’s Stark.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” said Tony dryly.

**Tony smirked, stating records were made to be broken. He boosted his flight, even more, zooming higher and higher, ignoring the warning over his heads-up display of ice building up over the exterior of the suit. Even JARVIS tried to warn him of the potentially fatal danger.**

“And, of course, you’re not listening…” sighed Rhodey. “Tony, what if you had died?”

“No one would have missed me,” replied Tony quietly.

Rhodey laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I cannot speak for the others but I _would_ miss you. Pepper would miss you. You really underestimate how the world sees you, Tony.”

“No matter how many times you say it, I’m not going to believe it.” Tony’s expression was enough for Rhodey to acknowledge his friend’s feelings on the subject.

**Tony urged himself to keep going, reach as high as he could. He was determined to break the record.**

**Ice was beginning to form over the suit, beginning to creak as the Suit was pushed to its limit.**

“Uh oh…” Steve winced.

“He’s going to fall…” Clint was almost singing.

“Clint, stop it!” hissed Steve.

**The Suit began to fail as ice-crusted over the helmet and his left foot short-circuited and he lost all display and power to the suit.**

**Tony screamed as the Suit began to fall, tumbling through the air, head over heels. “We’re iced up, JARVIS! Deploy flaps!” Tony had yet to realise he’d lost JARVIS. When nothing happened, only did he realise the ramifications of losing complete power to the suit. “JARVIS?”**

“Oh no…” Wanda whispered.

“Concerned for me, Maximoff?” Tony guessed; the surprise evident in his voice. He wouldn’t have thought Wanda might start to show concern for him because of this.

**Talking to himself, probably as a means to control the fear building up within him, Tony broke the ice off one of his leg plates. “Come on, we got to break the ice!” He twisted a nodule on his right leg and the flaps were deployed, breaking through the ice covering the Suit.**

“We know you are panicking because you’re talking to yourself,” noted Sam. “A common reflex of those facing certain death when you know it coming and you can’t do anything to stop it.”

Tony didn’t want to admit he had considered he’d been about to meet his end at the time because of his stupidity in not listening to JARVIS, and letting his hubris control him.

**Now falling belly first, arms out-stretched to slow his descent further, his Heads-up display booting up as JARVIS came online, his thrusters activated as he was about to hit ground level, nearly causing a collision with a car before flying back up and out into the sky, before returning to his mansion, descending onto the roof of his house.**

Steve felt relieved. “That was lucky you got the suit back online.”

**“Kill power,” he ordered. The Suit instantly stopped and Tony dropped, crashing through the roof, through the piano on the floor below and then onto the top of his blue vintage car stored in the garage, ruining it completely.**

“Did you get the car replaced?” Bruce wondered.

“I decided not to. My workshop changed after I created the suit. It became more of a place to store the suits than the cars,” admitted Tony. His car collection had rapidly decreased with the invention of the suits.

**Car alarms went off and DUM-E used the fire extinguisher on Tony as he leaned his head back.**

“DUM-E to the rescue!” laughed Rhodey. He lightly punched Tony on the right shoulder. “You deserved the fire extinguisher there!”

Tony didn’t argue the point.

**With an ice-pack pressed to his head, Tony walked towards his cup of coffee and the box Pepper had left for him earlier that evening. Absentmindedly, he picked up his mug of coffee before turning back to look at the package wrapped in brown paper.**

**A note sat on the top of the box. “From Pepper.”**

**Tony started to unwrap the box, opening it up to reveal a glass box with his first Arc Reactor mounted within it on a short stand. There was a metallic engraving on the casing around the Reactor. The words read: “PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART”.**

**Tony tipped it back, a slow smile spreading across his face.**

“I still have it. The Arc Reactor in its casing,” sighed Tony. “I’ll always keep it.”

“What changed your mind?” asked Steve. He remembered Tony had wanted it disposed of.

“When I saw what Pepper had done with it, I knew I had to keep it. It meant something to me,” explained Tony quietly. “She saw something in me that I didn’t see myself, and still don’t: a heart.”

“I know events of the Accords have caused frictions between us,” began Steve, “but you are a big part of this team, even now. I know you care, Tony. You do have a heart, and you shouldn’t need an Arc Reactor inscribed to prove it.”

Inclining his head, Tony didn’t know what to say. Steve Rogers may believe Tony had a heart but Tony was certain not everyone in the room believed it, and he doubted watching movies about his life would ever change their opinion.

_Still, I could be surprised._

And Tony directed his attention back to the screen.

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> Clint is being quite mean to Tony... He blames Tony solely for Civil War, refusing to take any responsibility himself. Clint will, very slowly, start to realise the truth. Wanda is being less hostile. 
> 
> It is my understanding Iron Man takes place over a period of months, which is why I've added in about Tony and Rhodey not really talking for several months after Tony returned from Afghanistan. 
> 
> The mysterious voice makes an appearance... We will learn the identity of the voice but it will be a long time before we do. 
> 
> The next chapter will be very long. I may make the decision to split it and add an extra chapter to this story, but it depends on how many words the next chapter comes up to. 
> 
> The next chapter will be posted next Sunday 2nd August. 
> 
> Until then, 
> 
> the-writer1988


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda begins to understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, 
> 
> This chapter turned out shorter than I thought it would be, because as I wrote it, I realised I had copied two chapters worth of movie text into one document and hadn't separated it. It was only when I was writing that I picked up my error. 
> 
> Please do, enjoy! :)

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Seven**

**In Afghanistan, two men were trying to roughly piece the suit back together. Raza stood by watching them as he smoked, annoyed at their lack of progress.**

“I’m going to guess they succeed in some way,” said Sam.

“What makes you say that?” asked Bucky.

“I could be wrong… but I do remember an incident at _Stark Industries_ involving a big suit of armour. There were photos on the paper the next day of a suit.” His eyes flickered to Tony. “And yours was photographed too. It caused quite a stir with my regiment, especially when you revealed it was you in the smaller suit, Stark.”

“We couldn’t cover it up though SHIELD tried its best to. I… kinda…”

“Interrupted their plans?” Natasha’s left eyebrow rose, knowingly.

Tony’s revelation that he was Iron Man had caused quite a stir in the media for weeks.

No one had expected the billionaire playboy to become what he had.

“To put it bluntly, Romanoff, I did.”

**The screen focused on the original helmet, lingering on it briefly before it merged into a digital mask on a computer screen in Tony’s workshop.**

**Tony was narrating notes out loud, sitting at his desk, with an ice pack on his left shoulder. The computers scattered around him all had schematics on them. He was removing a bandage on his hand. Tony noted the hull pressurisation was problematic and it was likely due to icing being the probable factor.**

“Already addressing the problems,” noted Steve. “Any problem you had with the suits you improved?”

Tony nodded. “I did. That way the same weakness couldn’t be used twice.”

“Smart,” agreed Bruce.

“Why do you think I never stop tinkering? I’m always trying to improve my work.” Tony pointed out. “You may not believe it, but despite the fact the Avengers are toast, I’ve already been working on improving some of your gear from the previous upgrades I did.”

Steve was surprised by it. “You are?”

Tony caught his eye. “Something is coming, Steve, and we are not prepared for it. I don’t want any of us to be unprepared for what is _out_ there.”

There was a sombre silence in the room. Steve marvelled, that despite everything, Tony was still trying his best to protect them.

Maybe he had underestimated Tony after all. 

**JARVIS told him it was a very astute observation and that if he intended on visiting other planets, they should improve the exosystems.**

“Never ever will I visit another planet,” shuddered Tony. “Going through the wormhole was enough.”

Wanda bit her lower lip. “What did you see?”

Tony dipped his chin, and caught her eye. “I think you already know.”

Bruce’s eyes followed the exchange. “Tony… what do you mean?”

Tony sighed and sat back. “You’ll find out… and then you’ll know why I’ve done the things I have.”

The only one who looked dubious about that was Clint, but Tony chose to ignore the archer. What Clint thought didn’t matter to him, just as long as he was able to keep the Earth safe.

**Tony leaned back in his chair, asking JARVIS to connect to the sys co and to use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphin tactical satellite. He assumed this would ensure fuselage integrity while maintaining a power-to-weight ratio. JARVIS wanted to know if he should render the new design using the proposed specifications.**

**Tony affirmed and sipped from his drink. “Thrill me.”**

“Once the base design was done, JARVIS could make alterations?” asked Bucky.

“He could, yes,” affirmed Tony. “It was quicker and easier rather than I edit it myself. JARVIS evolved with everything he did. It made creating the next Mark of the suit a quicker process. Plus, my mind was forever working on other things, and with JARVIS’ help, I was able to tackle other problems as well. JARVIS was good like that…” He sighed, missing JARVIS.

Though JARVIS was a part of Vision, and the android could still remember his time as Tony’s A.I, it wasn’t the same.

JARVIS was gone forever, and he was never coming back.

FRIDAY was a good replacement but, as JARVIS had been, she was still learning. It would take her years before she ever caught up with what JARVIS had once been.

**As the render was drawn up, Tony’s attention was drawn to the TV in the background. The presenter was talking about the third annual benefit for the Firefighter’s Family Fund, and that it had become an event for the place to be for L.A’s high society.**

**“JARVIS, did we get an invite for that?”**

**JARVIS confirmed he had no record of one.**

Rhodey frowned. “Wouldn’t have Pepper told you about it?”

Tony would have thought so. “Maybe she was told not to tell me.”

From what he had learned at the benefit, Tony could only believe Stane had been behind it, to keep Tony out of the loop as much as possible. Pepper had been an unwilling pawn, believing she would have been doing the right thing in helping Tony adjust back into life following his captivity. She had no reason not to trust Obadiah Stane.

If he had asked her not to tell Tony…

_He wasn’t expecting me to show up anyway…_

**Tony picked up the prototype Iron Man mask. The TV continued on in the background. They were now talking about him, stating that he hadn’t been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. He rose the mask in front of his face. It was marked with mathematical diagrams.**

**“Some claim he’s suffering from post-traumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks.”**

“SHIELD was concerned about you,” explained Natasha. “These reports were worrying…”

Steve was surprised. “Why?”

“We had yet to debrief him. The longer he stayed out of the public eye, the less likely we would get an accurate debrief from him.” Natasha shrugged. “Not that he did give us the full story when SHIELD finally managed to catch up with him.”

“Actually, I did,” said Tony, “I just hacked into your systems and edited the report. I didn’t want people knowing details. And, what I did was for my own protection. With HYDRA being involved with SHIELD, it gave me an element of protection by doing so. Any dirty laundry SHIELD had on me when you did your data-dump, Nat, had already been deleted or altered. I was very efficient in keeping myself protected.”

“In hindsight, hacking their system was a good idea,” added Bucky. “HYDRA couldn’t use anything against you.”

Steve frowned. He’d always hated Tony hacking into things. When he’d first found out he’d done it on the Helicarrier, the soldier hadn’t been impressed. But Tony’s words had made him find out details for himself as to what SHIELD had been planning with the Tesseract. In some ways, Tony was right in doing what he had done.

**Tony lowered his mask.**

**“Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight.”**

“That’s gonna change,” grinned Sam. “If you’re not turning up, I’ll be surprised.”

**Tony glanced at his computer as JARVIS informed him the render was complete. On-screen showed the new prototype design for the new Mark II, shining gold. Tony commented it was a little ostentatious. JARVIS mocked that Tony was usually so discreet.**

“JARVIS really did have his own personality…” admitted Wanda. She could see it now. Vision wasn’t JARVIS, albeit having some of his memories.

“We were very close…” said Tony quietly. “He knew me very well. He wasn’t just a creation of mine. He was a friend.”

Guilt flooded through her. She wanted to apologise. Her actions had forced Tony to restart the Ultron project. She had wanted him to create something destructive. Something which would ultimately destroy him. But as she learned more about him, she found she’d badly misjudged him. A part of her wanted to apologise for being indirectly responsible for JARVIS’ ‘death’. But the words could not come.

When they had started the movie, she hadn’t expected to feel sympathy for Tony Stark.

It surprised her that her anger was lessening. 

**His gaze was drawn to one of his old-fashioned cars, which had an open top and it was painted matte black, with bright red flames. “Tell you what, throw a little hot-rod red in there.”**

“That’s how you picked the colour of the suit?” Bruce asked incredulously.

Tony shrugged. “It was inspired.”

“Good choice,” nodded Sam.

**“Yes, that should help you keep a low profile,” sassed JARVIS.**

The personality quirks of the A.I did cause a few of them to chuckle at his words.

**The A.I altered the design, adding in the red to complete the new render whilst Tony sipped at his drink.**

**“The render is complete.”**

**Tony’s answer was instant. “Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it.”**

“You didn’t even look at it properly…” Sam coaxed Tony.

“Didn’t need to. You kind of know when it works… And a red and gold suit works.”

**JARVIS confirmed he was starting automated assembly and that the estimated time for completion was five hours.**

**Tony pulled out his watch, glanced at the time, and said: “Don’t wait up for me, honey.”**

“And off you go to the benefit,” mused Nat.

**A silver Audi sports car with the number plate STARK 4 sped down the road, slowing down as he reached the venue of the benefit, pulling up by the kerb where he was greeted by a car handler. He climbed out of the Audi and Tony handed him the keys and began to walk boldly up the red carpet. He’d made sure to dress smartly, wearing a business suit.**

**Obadiah was conducting an interview, discussing how weapons manufacturing was only a small part of what SI was all about, and that their partnership with the fire and rescue community was important equally as well, however, he was cut off from finishing when it became apparent the media had noticed Tony’s presence.**

“He’s not going to like you being there is he?” observed Steve.

Tony declined to answer.

**Tony walked through the crowd, trying to ignore the blonde woman who approached him and wanted to know if he remembered her. He didn’t.**

“Should have remembered her name, Stark,” muttered Clint.

Tony rolled his eyes. Sure, he had been a jerk when it came to sleeping with women but they shouldn’t expect him to remember their names. “Considering I hadn’t slept with anyone since before Afghanistan, and that woman is not Everhart, why would I remember her name?”

Clint cringed.

“Did you forget I spent three months in captivity? The names of women I had a one-night stand with were not important!” added Tony, feeling a bit of anger over how Clint was continuing to talk to him and degrade his every action.

“Clint…” Steve sighed. “I know you are angry at Tony…”

“Of course, I am! He didn’t help us when we were thrown in prison! I have a criminal record because of _him_!” Clint pointed at Tony with his finger.

Tony sighed, hanging his head. Barton just didn’t get it. “You got yourself a criminal record when you attacked Vision at the Compound. That had nothing to do with me.”

“You were keeping Wanda prisoner!” spat Clint.

Tony wanted to scream. “The Compound was the only safe place for her at the time! People wanted her head! And she wasn’t a prisoner! She had the run of the entire Compound and its grounds!”

“You should have told me though,” whispered Wanda, “instead of leaving it to Vision.”

“I know,” admitted Tony. “But… you don’t like me. Would you have listened or believed me if I had spoken to you?”

Wanda wasn’t sure she would have. She would have probably ignored him.

“Wanda, what I did was to try to protect you. To keep you safe, so you wouldn’t go to prison. I didn’t know about the collar that they used on you. That wasn’t of my design.”

“They said it was,” stated Clint, his eyes flashing angrily. “Trying to abdicate responsibility again, Stark?” 

Tony gritted his teeth, his fists clenched. “The collar they used on Wanda was not Stark Tech. Ross was already working with an independent group to construct devices that could hold each of us, including me! Just because I was the Avenger’s ‘tech guy’ does not mean I was working with the Government either!”

The archer mumbled under his breath.

“Clint, we may not be in agreement with Tony on certain matters, but your comments have gone too far. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t-”

“Don’t say anything at all.” Clint shook his head, rolling his eyes. “I’m not your child, Cap.”

“But you are part of this team,” stated Steve firmly. “Just as much as Tony still is. And you can’t keep on blaming him for mistakes we all made.”

Clint cast Tony a glance but didn’t say anything.

**He tapped an elderly gentleman on the shoulder, telling him he looked great as the elder turned to look at him. Obadiah was attempting to salvage his interview when Tony approached him, interrupting the interview. “What’s the world coming to when a guy’s got to crash his own party?”**

“Didn’t you always do that, Stark?” teased Natasha.

Tony couldn’t deny it. He had always been the type to make a big impression at parties, even ones that were his own.

**Obadiah laughed. “Look at you! Hey, what a surprise.”**

**Tony nodded and smiled. “See you inside.”**

**Obadiah stopped him, catching him by the shoulder, advising him quietly. “Hey, listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them.”**

Rhodey frowned and muttered quietly. “Right where you want them to be to take advantage.” None of the others heard him, but there did seem to be a genuine disquiet amongst the team whenever Obadiah was on screen.

**“You got it,” nodded Tony. “Just cabin fever. I’ll just be a minute.”**

**Obadiah watched him as he walked off.**

**Inside the venue, Tony approached the bar. He ordered a scotch. A man approached Tony. It was Phil Coulson. Tony recognised him, sipping from his drink. Coulson reminded him he was from the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Tony commented they needed a new name for that, in which Coulson admitted he heard that a lot.**

“We did have a name. SHIELD,” reported Natasha. “It was in our regulations to use the full name rather than the abbreviation. If people were curious about us and searched up ‘Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division’, they were led to a website that told them what we did.”

“Though it didn’t tell them the truth,” added Clint. “We were supposed to be an anonymised agency but gradually became public over the years. Our actions became public.”

“The year you became Iron Man changed everything for us,” said Natasha, looking at Tony. “We started to use SHIELD openly, and the world knew more about what we did as an organisation.”

“Which is exactly what HYDRA wanted,” growled Steve.

Natasha nodded. “So, they could bring down SHIELD.”

“But you bought HYDRA down at the same time,” pointed out Bucky. 

“Maybe,” admitted Steve, “but HYDRA still had pockets around, working to achieve their goal. They never faded away, unlike SHIELD. We spent a year rooting out all the old Hydra hotspots.” His lips twitched. “Those were the good times. That year we spent together, the original team…”

“Then Stark ruined it with Ultron,” snarked Clint nastily.

Tony rolled his eyes, dutifully ignoring the Archer.

**He continued to add that they needed to debrief Tony as there was still a lot of unanswered questions regarding his escape, and time was a factor with these things. He offered Tony a time and a place for a meeting.**

**Tony was distracted, hardly noticing as his eyes focused upon Pepper, who was wearing a bare-backed blue dress, her hair trailing down her back in ringlets. Absentmindedly, Tony held out his hand to shake Coulson’s, agreeing to the meeting, but he was still starring at Pepper.**

“You didn’t take it in at all what he was saying, were you?” said Sam.

Tony shrugged. “Pepper was very distracting in the blue dress.” It was one of his favourite dresses of hers. He loved it. “I was partially aware though.” _But not enough to remember the appointment…_ If he had turned up for the interview… The Arc Reactor would not have been taken from him. _But it may have been too late to stop Stane with his suit._ Nor would Pepper have found evidence of Stane’s betrayal.

**“I’m going to go to my assistant, and, we’ll make a date.”**

Rhodey cast Tony a knowing glance. He knew how much Tony was besotted with Pepper, and she him. No one could deny the love they had for each other. He was glad they had sorted the issues between them that had led to their temporary break-up. They were back on track, stronger than ever before.

**Tony walked towards Pepper, coming up behind her. “You look fantastic. I didn’t recognise you.”**

**Pepper turned, her lips were bright red with lipstick, and she was astonished to see Tony. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.**

“Oh, someone is in trouble…” Clint muttered, making no effort to keep his remarks to himself. 

**Tony shrugged. “Just avoiding government agents.”**

**“Are you by yourself?”**

**“Yes. Where’d you get that dress?” he queried.**

Steve shook his head. “You just went straight to the point. One thing on your mind, Stark, as always.”

“She looked nice,” defended Tony, annoyed at Steve’s criticism of him. “Besides, the dress she wore would have been too expensive for her to buy, therefore…” He trailed off, hoping the super-solider would catch on.

“She used your money…” Steve realised. “Oh.”

“It was my gift to her for her birthday,” clarified Tony.

“You didn’t mind how much she used?” Bruce queried.

Tony shook his head. “No. I didn’t. It took her a long while before she started to buy herself expensive stuff for her birthday. If I didn’t want her to, I would have put a stop to it.” He shrugged. “What Pepper wants, Pepper gets.”

“And is that still true today, Tones?” joked Rhodey.

Tony pulled a face. “Well… erm…” He was not very good at buying presents. The giant rabbit he’d bought her for Christmas one year had been an epic disaster. But then, that whole Christmas had been an epic disaster, what with Killian and Extremis being on the loose. “I’m not very good at the whole presents lark.”

**“Oh, it was a birthday present,” she clarified, looking down at herself self-consciously.**

**“Look’s great.”**

**“From you, actually,” she elaborated further.**

“Looks like she’s a bit embarrassed to be found to be wearing such an expensive dress when you’re around…” Sam pointed out.

**“Well, I got great taste.”**

**“Yes.”**

**“You want to dance?” Tony offered.**

Rhodey put his head in his hands. “You’re actually going for it.”

Tony frowned. “What’s the problem?”

“Pepper isn’t the usual woman who flings herself at you, and you’re just doing your usual routine of ‘I’m here, they’ll want to do anything with me’!” explained Rhodey. “And if someone says no, you make them do it anyway…”

Tony felt uncomfortable. He did have a tendency to force his own way on others. But he’d spent the majority of his life getting what he wanted. “Maybe I shouldn’t have pressured her…” 

**Pepper seemed rather alarmed by the prospect. “Oh, no. Thank you.”**

**But Tony guided her onto the dance floor as Pepper nervously looked around. “All right, come on.”**

“You just disregarded what she said!” Steve was shocked, yet he felt he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“How can you be surprised?” snorted Clint. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Stark only cares about himself. Not of others.”

**Pepper bit her lip, unsure whether she was enjoying the routine Tony was putting her through or whether she should feel like she wanted to be as far away from this place as much as possible. They swayed to the music, and she kept smiling nervously.**

“She really doesn’t want to be there,” observed Wanda, feeling sorry for Pepper.

Tony winced. He could see his actions had been wrong. He should have respected Pepper’s wish to not dance instead of forcing her into it.

**Tony noticed. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”**

“YES!” Almost everyone shouted at the screen.

**“No. No,” she denied hurriedly, “I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my boss in front of everyone that I work with, in a dress with no back.”**

“She’s nervous,” noted Sam quietly.

**“You look great. You smell great,” complimented Tony.**

**Embarrassed by his words, Pepper avoided eye-contact. “Oh gosh!”**

**“But I could fire you if that would take the edge off,” he reasoned.**

**“I actually don’t think you could tie your shoes without me,” bantered Pepper, getting into the swing of things.**

“You wouldn’t last a single day without her.” Rhodey clapped him on the back. “I know you. Pepper keeps you focused.”

**“I’d make it a week,” Tony guessed.**

**“Really?” Pepper wasn’t so sure.**

**“Sure.” He was pretty confident.**

**“What’s your social security number?”**

Bruce leaned forward and glanced at Tony. “You don’t know it, do you?”

“I had no need to know it,” defended Tony, though now he had made the effort to remember it. The few months he had spent without Pepper had been some of the hardest of his life. Dealing with the Accords and the aftermath of Siberia had been… challenging. But he’d made progress, and Pepper had come back to him. He didn’t want to disappoint her ever again.

**Tony danced in silence as he groped for the answer, whilst Pepper smiled expectantly, clearly knowing that he didn’t know those nine simple numbers.**

**“Five.”**

**“Five? Great. You’re missing just a couple of digits there.”**

**“The other eight,” laughed Tony. “So, I got you for the other eight.”**

“You might not always have her though,” said Steve.

“I know,” sighed Tony. “But I know it now.”

Clint was about to make a remark but Tony stopped him.

“I’m not repeating it, Barton, just to prove I do know it!”

“Wasn’t going to ask that,” sneered Barton, but it was clear from the tone of his voice, that would have been his question if Tony hadn’t interrupted him.

**Pepper laughed quietly. An awkward silence fell between them, and Pepper continued to look nervous as she noticed Tony watching her, his eyes soft.**

Bruce muttered under his breath. “Awkward…”

**“How about a little air?” suggested Tony.**

**Pepper agreed. “Yes, I need some air.” She cleared her throat as they walked away with Coulson watching on.**

“Tension breaking, thank god!” breathed Bruce. “How did you two manage to work together for so long?”

“Pepper was very… patient.” It was all Tony could say. The sexual tension between them had increased over the years to the point where they had become comfortable with one another in private but embarrassed when in public. It had been unspoken between them for years. “She put up with a lot of stuff I did or said. I’m honestly surprised she’s still interested. Still here.”

“Pepper came back?” perked up Steve.

Tony shifted in his seat. He’d told Rogers that he and Pepper had been taking a break. “Yeah, she did. Shortly after Siberia.”

“I’m glad she came back to you, Tony. She’s good for you.”

_She is,_ thought Tony, _but she’s too good for me. How have I still got her?_ It surprised him, after all these years, that Pepper still stood by his side. All the shit he had pulled, and she still refused to stay away. She was _loyal_.

**Outside on the balcony, Pepper and Tony stood in the cool breeze air.**

**“That was totally weird,” said Pepper.**

**“Totally harmless,” reasoned Tony.**

“Doubtful,” commented Sam. “Both of you clearly harbour feelings for one another. I know you are together now… but back then… You two definitely needed to get it out of your system.”

Tony couldn’t deny it. When they had eventually got together, they’d decided not to jump straight into bed. They both wanted to make sure a relationship could work between them before they made that final step. When they had eventually done so… it had been _amazing_ and totally worth the wait. “It might be a while before we get to that point.”

“I hope we don’t see it!” commented Clint harshly. He ignored Steve’s glare.

But Tony decided to have some fun. He’d had enough of Clint’s comments. “Sex tapes, Barton. They do exist.”

Clint pulled a face. “Did not want that image in my head.” He looked sick.

“Then stop making horrible comments,” warned Steve, arms folded across his chest, glaring at his team member. “You deserved that.”

Clint pursued his lips.

Tony smirked, glad he’d been able to make the archer feel so uncomfortable after all the derogatory comments he had been making throughout the viewing so far.

**Pepper corrected him. “It was totally not harmless, by the way.”**

**“We’re dancing. No one’s even watching.”**

**Pepper didn’t agree. “Everybody who I work wi-. No, you know why?” She swiped her hair out of her face.**

**“I think you lost objectively. I think they just… People… We just danced.”**

“But could look as favouritism,” pointed out Bruce. “Dancing with your personal assistant is the best way for rumours to spread.”

“On Asgard, it was common to dance with everyone!” stated Thor. “Dancing and drinking, no matter your status!”

“Earth isn’t Asgard though, is it?” Bucky said.

“Romances between the boss and an employee can be problematic in the workplace,” explained Sam. “It can lead to people believing they have an advantage of everyone else when it comes to promotions.”

“Which is why when I made Pepper CEO,” Tony interrupted, “I was no longer an employee of the company. I was no longer the boss.”

“It didn’t stop the rumours though,” pointed out Rhodey. “A lot of places reported Pepper had slept her way to the top. Very uncommon for the Personal Assistant to suddenly be promoted to CEO.”

Tony shrugged. “Pepper had been running the company for years. She knew it better then I did. I was just the face of the company.”

“Statistically, there is a 0.5 percent chance of a PA ever becoming CEO without using their connections to rise to that position,” stated Vision. “JARVIS ran the statistics shortly after Mr. Stark pronounced Miss. Potts CEO. Those numbers are retained in my memory.”

“But… technically… wouldn’t she fall in the 0.5 percent?” queried Wanda.

Tony shook his head. “No. I promoted her on my own decision, no pressure from her. I’m sure you’ll see it. Pepper did not use her position as my PA to force her way into the role of CEO. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.” He briefly glanced at Clint, aware that the Archer probably believed it. “Pepper worked hard to get where she did. I’m incredibly proud of the years she served as my PA. No one could ever live up to her.”

“Not even me?” eluded Natasha.

“Ah… erm…” Tony stumbled over his words.

“Wait, when was Nat your PA?” Steve asked, surprised flitting across his features.

A slight smile pulled at Tony’s lips. “You’ll find out.” 

**“No, it was not just a dance! You don’t understand because you’re you. And everybody knows exactly who you are and how you are with girls and all of that, which is completely fine. But, you know, then me, you’re my boss, and I’m dancing with you.”**

**Tony protested, deflating a bit as he tried to defend their dance. “I don’t think it was taken that way.”**

Sam winced. “If your reputation at the time was to dance with girls and then take them to bed, Pepper is exactly right in her analysis there. People would have noticed you were dancing with her, and they would have made that conclusion.”

“Not many people would have known your experiences in captivity changed you,” said Rhodey quietly. “They assumed Tony Stark would be fine.”

“Even with the news reporting I was suffering post-traumatic stress?” questioned Tony.

“Stane was quite good at defending you on that…” replied Rhodey hesitantly. In public, Stane had made a show of supporting Tony, but privately, he hadn’t been.

**“Because it makes me look like the one who’s trying to…” She trailed off, noticing the soft expression on Tony’s face.**

**“I just think you’re overstating it,” admitted Tony.**

**“You know, and we’re here, and then I’m wearing this ridiculous dress, and then we were dancing like that and…” Pepper shook her head.**

**Tony’s face had been stripped of all the masks he had ever worn. In front of her was the real Tony Stark, the one who cared deeply about her but hardly showed it. Without realising it, they both took a tiny step forward.**

“I know you didn’t kiss her. Pepper would have said. Pretty sure I was there for your first kiss,” remarked Rhodey.

“You were.” 

**Pepper started to lean forward, and she pulled him close, their bodies pressed close together. Her eyes closed. Electricity was in the air and their lips moved closer.**

**They were about to kiss when reality came crashing down and Pepper opened her eyes and pulled away, breaking the awkward silence between them. “I would like a drink, please.”**

“I bet you were disappointed, Stark,” muttered Clint.

Tony decided not to comment. He had wanted to kiss Pepper then but watching it back now it had seemed very awkward and forced, whereas their first proper kiss had been fiery and passionate.

**Tony nodded. “Got it, okay.”**

**“I would like a Vodka Martini, please.”**

**“Okay.”**

**“Very dry with Olives, a lot of Olives. Like at least 3 Olives,” Pepper requested.**

Sam laughed. “Definitely does not want you to try to kiss her again, does she, with that many olives!”

“I am a good kisser,” said Tony. “But Pepper knows that now…”

**At the bar, Tony ordered two Vodka Martinis, extra dry and with extra olives and quickly. He added for one of them to be made dirty. He put the cash he had in the wine glass. The barman walked off, leaving Tony to lean at the bar as a woman walks through the crowd towards him from behind. She wore a black dress. She was surprised to see him at the event.**

**Tony couldn’t remember her name. It was Christine Everhart.**

**She informed him he had a lot of nerve showing up at the Benefit, and that she wanted a reaction from him.**

**Tony pulled a face, commenting that panic was his reaction.**

Steve frowned. “I’m guessing that isn’t the type of reaction she was after…”

“No, she wasn’t,” affirmed Tony.

**“Because I was referring to your company’s involvement in this latest atrocity.”**

**“Yeah, they just put my name on the invitation. I don’t know what to tell you,” admitted Tony.**

**Christine stared at him, a hard expression on her face. “I actually almost bought it, hook, line, and sinker.”**

“Whatever she wants your reaction of, she believes you are complicit in whatever she has uncovered,” noted Natasha.

**Tony didn’t look impressed. “I was out of town for a couple of months, in case you didn’t hear.”**

**“Is this what you call accountability?” Christine asked, handing him a selection of printed photos.**

**Now, Tony realised what she had really been talking about.**

**“It’s a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?” she asked.**

Sam paled. “Shit.”

Steve gasped. “This isn’t going to go well, is it?”

“That’s where that Yinsen was from, wasn’t it?” remembered Thor.

“It was,” confirmed Tony. “This is when I discovered the truth.” His eyes briefly caught Wanda’s, and she glanced at him, curious.

**Tony’s gaze was intent as he glanced at Christine, flicking through each of the photos, showing his weapons in the hands of the terrorists, including the Jericho, the weapon they had wanted him to build but he’d refused. They still had obtained one. How? “When were these taken?”**

**“Yesterday.”**

**“I didn’t approve any shipment,” stated Tony.**

“Then who did?” whispered Wanda, surprise flicking across her features.

“Now you’ll know,” answered Rhodey gently.

**“Well, your company did,” Christine pointed out.**

“No…” whispered Steve, the obvious answer hitting him.

Sam swallowed. “He didn’t just sell weapons illegally, did he?”

Tony shook his head, realising Sam meant Stane. “No, he didn’t.”

**“Well, I’m not my company.” Tony strode past Christine and out the door.**

**The next scene showed Tony standing in front of Obadiah, showing him the pictures Christine had taken. “Have you seen these pictures? Huh? What’s going on in Gulmira?”**

**Obadiah was shaking his head. “Tony, Tony… You can’t afford to be this naïve.”**

“He is double-dealing!” Sam’s expression was hard, his eyes flashing angrily.

Wanda’s breathing quickened.

**Tony’s face was hard. “You know what? I was naïve before, when they said, ‘Here’s the line. We don’t cross it. This is how we do business.’ If we’re double-dealing under the table. Are we?”**

**A photographer shouts out for a picture as Obadiah scrutinised Tony. “Let’s take a picture. Come on. Picture time!”**

“He’s avoiding the question.” Bruce didn’t look happy.

Surprisingly to Tony, he could see most of them there seemed to be angry about what Stane had been doing behind Tony’s back. Even Clint looked a little green, but the Archer was fighting not to show it. 

**They stood together on the steps, Obadiah smiling brightly however Tony’s stony expression did not change. His eyes were burning with anger. He didn’t have time for this.**

**Obadiah leaned in close, murmuring quietly as the cameras continued to click in front of them. “Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injection against you.” He continued to smile, patting Tony’s arm. “It was the only way I could protect you.”**

“No!” vented Sam. “He wasn’t trying to protect you! He was trying to oust you!” He was angry enough that he leaped out of his seat. “Everything makes sense now!”

“It does?” Clint seemed dubious.

“I’ve been suspicious of him since the start. Haven’t you? The way he has looked and acted through this whole time? Now, instead of trying to help Stark, he’s trying to push him out of the company. I would lay bets Stane was involved in Stark’s kidnapping too. Was he?” He wanted clarification of his theory.

“You’ll find out,” said Tony. “My missiles only got into the hands of terrorists because of Stane. He was the one double-dealing and profiteering from it. At the same time, his actions ensured my own fortune increased. I never questioned it. I trusted him to make the right decisions for the company.” Tony looked at his hands. “So much blood is on my hands for not noticing. Every action I take is to make up for the fact I am directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. I never noticed it. I let him get away with it because I wasn’t interested. All I cared about was where the next party was and the next one-night stand! I was the public face of the company whilst Stane ran it behind my back, doing what he wanted.”

Tony leaned forward, wiping his hands over his face. “Wanda… Stane was the one who sold weapons to HYDRA. HYDRA used them against your people.” He shook his head, his shoulders shuddering. “Stane didn’t just double-deal in genuine Stark weapons, he also dealt in fake weapons too, pretending they were Stark missiles.”

“How do you know the difference if its genuine Stark or not?” enquired Steve.

“Because every Stark missile has the words ‘Stark Industries’ printed upon it. The weapons sold to Sokovia did not,” explained Tony.

“They just had the word ‘Stark’…” whispered Wanda, her face blanched, picturing the missile in her mind.

“Genuine Stark missiles were ones that worked properly. Never had any faults. They were manufactured precisely. JARVIS monitored it. Any fault, he told me. Stane bought cheaper missiles and passed them off as Stark weaponry. He made a fortune. The missile which hit your home was not a genuine Stark missile, Wanda. It was one Stane had bought and then sold to HYDRA on the pretence it was one of mine. It wasn’t my weapon which killed your parents, nor frightened you for days after the second hit and didn’t explode… But I’m still to blame because I didn’t know.”

Tony looked away, hardly able to look at Wanda. He didn’t know what she was thinking. Nor was he sure if he wanted to know. “I know why you hate me, Wanda. But I was not the one to fire the missile at your home. Nor was it my missile. But it is my fault that I did not know Stane was profiteering elsewhere and using my name to do it. I was interested in honest business dealings. That was how I was raised. And, that is how I thought Stane operated too. I’m sor-”

“Don’t say it.” Wanda interrupted him, holding her hand up. “You do not need to apologise.” She bit her lower lip. “I’ve misjudged you, haven’t I?” Her voice was quiet, filled with uncertainty. “I think… maybe… once this is over, we need to talk.” She smiled lightly at him.

Tony cocked his head to the side slightly. “Okay.”

“Later,” Wanda promised.

**Obadiah pulled away from Tony, leaving him standing numbly on the steps, now aware of the betrayal of his father’s once close friend.**

**Behind Tony, Christine turned away.**

Tony shifted in his seat. “Now you all know how naïve I was. Everything I’ve done, and everything I continue to do, is to make up for what I missed for years. Even if you disagree with my methods, they are carried out with good intentions.”

All of them, save for Clint looked thoughtful, though the Archer’s stony expression was beginning to break.

Perhaps Clint would soon see and understand, just as Wanda had done. 

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> Wanda is finally making progress and realised she may have been wrong about Tony. They've still got a way to go. Clint is still being quite stubborn, but his team are starting to get fed up of him. 
> 
> In Iron Man, Phil Coulson talks to Tony about SHIELD. It's heavily implied that the name SHIELD didn't exist back then. However, in Captain Marvel, Nick Fury calls himself a part of SHIELD, so the name existed then. I tried to make up a reason why Phil spoke to Tony without calling it SHIELD, so I decided to use the idea that SHIELD was already its name... it just wasn't in the public eye until a bit later on, allowing for the fact that SHIELD was in fact used back in Captain Marvel. 
> 
> We've got three more chapters to go...
> 
> Until next Sunday, 
> 
> the-writer1988


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes to Gulmira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has commented, kudos, enjoying this fic so far! We are getting closer to the end now.

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Eight**

**There was a TV in the corner of Tony’s workshop. A news report showed a reporter standing in the desert, next to a line of villagers as they made their way down into a ravine, carrying only a few possessions. The reporter was describing the fifteen-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira could only be considered a descent into hell. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages had been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by the warlords, who’d been emboldened by a new-found power.**

“That’s why Stark weaponry was so sought after. It could change the tides of a conflict,” explained Rhodey. “It was the best weapons tech in the world. And still is, even if Tony isn’t in the business anymore.”

“It allowed the Ten Rings to gain a lot of foothold in Afghanistan,” muttered Sam. He glanced at Tony. “I know it wasn’t you, Stark, and I know why you feel the way you do…”

“People lost their lives and livelihoods because I didn’t know,” sighed Tony. They’d already gone through this. “I had to do something about it. Especially after I saw this news report.”

Steve looked sharply at him. “What did you do?”

Tony advised him to carry on watching. 

**Tony sat on the couch, fiddling with an Iron Man Gauntlet on his right arm, using a screwdriver with his left, fiddling with the newly made suit. He was stone-faced, angry.**

“There is only one other time I’ve ever seen you that angry before…” noted Rhodey quietly.

“When?” Tony had rarely become angry before Afghanistan. He had led a care-free life. He couldn’t think of what Rhodey was referring too.

Rhodey tipped his head towards Steve and the others and mouthed back to his friend: “Siberia.”

“Oh.” Tony realised now. He should have remembered but a part of him wanted to forget the whole Siberia business. He’d been deeply hurt by Roger’s betrayal. And he wasn’t looking forward to viewing it either. Once Tony had been rescued and brought home, he’d spent hours ranting about Steve and the others. His anger over everything that had happened had since evaporated but the resentment was still there.

**The reporter continued to elaborate that the villagers had been forced to take shelter in any dwellings they could find. Some found shelter in the ruins of other buildings or in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. The TV flashed to show gunfire.**

**As Tony continued to fiddle with the Gauntlet, the palm began to glow.**

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to blow something up?” swallowed Bruce, alarmed by the expression on onscreen Tony’s face.

**The violence in Gulmira was being attributed to the Ten Rings. Then, there was Raza, seen smoking on screen. The Reporter confirmed the men were heavily armed and on a mission; a mission which could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way.**

**Tony stood up.**

Everyone in the room seemed to flinch. They could tell Tony meant business.

**The news reporter continued, stating there was little hope for any of the refugees.**

“Stark…?” Bucky hesitantly asked.

Tony leaned forward.

“I’m not sure if I should ask this or not… but… what were you thinking?”

Tony sighed. “I was thinking of Yinsen, and what he told me. His final words have stayed with me all this time. ‘Don’t waste your life’. And, for months, I’d been at home, creating this suit of armour when I could have been doing something more to help the people of Gulmira. Yinsen died so I could live. It should have been the other way around. He could have given the world more than I have ever given it.”

“That’s not true,” defended Steve, feeling guilty at the low amount of self-esteem Tony had. He knew Clint’s constant derogatory comments was getting to the Inventor. “You’ve given the world plenty, Tony. You’ve made mistakes but so have all of us.”

Tony raised his head and looked at Steve directly in the eye. “And yet I am the only one willing to try to rectify my mistakes.”

“That’s not true, Tony, and you know it!” retorted Steve.

Tony raised an eyebrow. “When did Captain America rectify his mistakes with the Accords? Oh… wait… no… you think the world needs to rectify their mistakes…”

Steve pursed his lips. “The Accords are wrong, Tony, and you know it!”

“And, yet, I’m in a position to help the world when it requests it and not be obstructed when you are unable to fully help others when the authorities arrive and attempt to arrest you. Please, tell me, how is being on the run, any help to the world?” The Inventor folded his arms across his chest. “The world needed us to be together, Cap, standing alongside them, not opposing them!”

“But you recognise they are wrong though.” Steve saw the opportunity. Tony hadn’t denied it.

“There are a lot of things wrong with the Accords, but working with them, it means we have the ammo to change them. Running from them and showing how against them you are, does not grant you the opportunity to negotiate changes with the Accords Committee.” Tony pointed out. “I don’t like working with Ross either. But, you’ll find, he isn’t the one in charge of the Accords. More than seventy-five percent of the time he does not get his own way.”

Steve’s expression was hard. “He still has twenty-five percent too much.”

“That’s the way the world works, Steve,” sighed Rhodey. “You can’t always get what you want. You have to compromise. If you want to fit in, you have to –”

“Play well with others,” interjected Tony. “A label once directed at me. Fighting against the Accords when you did was the wrong time to do it. I have the ability to make suggestions, talk to the other members of the Committee, and get them altered so they are more in favour for us. Even if you decided to come back, they wouldn’t be able to trust you because you do not have their confidence. You threw that all away when you went against them.”

Steve sighed. “Tony… We’re never going to agree on the Accords. There is no way of knowing who was right or wrong. We just have to live with it. Whilst the Accords are in place, I will not work with the Governments. I will work with the people of the world to help them when they need it most.”

“Even when they do not want you to?” Tony pointed out. “Do not assume the public is on your side, Steve.”

Steve’s jaw clenched.

Bucky raised a hand, stopping Steve from responding. “Leave it, Steve.” He looked apologetically at Tony. “Didn’t know my question would lead to this.”

“It’s alright,” acceded Tony. “The Accords are a tricky subject to navigate.”

“You can say that again,” muttered Sam, shaking his head warily. 

**Tony walked around the couch, throwing the screwdriver away. He looked angry.**

**“Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia or-”**

**Tony raised his arm, palm out in front of him. He aimed at the other side of the garage, and fired, blasting one of the lights hanging from the ceiling. Tony was angry and determined.**

**“Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop.” The woman’s voice droned on in the background.**

**Tony walks forward, flexing his head.**

“Stark, remind me to never piss you off again,” complained Sam. “You really look like someone not to be messed with.”

Tony remembered blasting Sam off his feet after Rhodey had fallen and lacerated his spinal cord. He could have done so much worse to Sam if he’d wanted to.

**“A child’s simple question, ‘where are my mother and father?’ There’s very little hope for the refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help.”**

“Why didn’t the US Army step in?” asked Steve. “Surely, this is what they should be doing?”

Rhodey shook his head. “It wasn’t that simple. When they are using human shields, and have civilians everywhere, it is impossible for us to step in. Civilian casualties have to be prevented at all costs.”

“Sometimes you cannot prevent civilian casualties,” argued Steve. “We try our best to save them as much as possible. It is not always possible.”

“Like Lagos?” Wanda asked. “Sokovia?”

“Both of those incidents could have been prevented,” said Tony quietly. “Sokovia is on me.”

Wanda’s expression slightly changed when Tony mentioned Sokovia.

“They couldn’t be avoided,” stated Steve. “We have to accept it and move on.”

“Steve, the Air Force nor the Army would ever put civilian’s lives at risk. We have to monitor the situation and take action at the most appropriate time. It is not acceptable for civilians to die,” pointed out Rhodey.

“But how many died because you didn’t intervene?” Steve grated. “You could have saved many lives by sacrificing a few!”

Rhodey’s eyes glinted angrily. “Not when they are innocent people!”

“Sometimes sacrifices have to be made in war,” steeled Steve.

The argument would have continued if the Voice hadn’t spoken up.

_And, yet, when it came to it, you were unable to sacrifice the few for the many, Rogers._

“What?” Steve was startled, surprising twisting across his face. “I wouldn’t hesitate to make that choice!”

_Hmm, you’ll see._

Steve cast his gaze around the room. “What does that mean?”

Sam swallowed, glancing at Steve. “I think it means you do the exact opposite of what you say you would do…”

“But… I’d… never…” Steve shook his head. “I wouldn’t… Would I?” he asked aloud; however, the voice did not elaborate.

“I guess you’ll find out, Cap,” added Sam.

Steve wasn’t sure he was looking forward to finding out or not. He just couldn’t imagine putting his own needs first above the needs of others. He wasn’t selfish like Tony was. _Helping others is my priority. Nothing will change that. Everything I’ve done is so I can continue to help others. The world just cannot see that._

**Tony’s reflection stared back at him in the three glass panels overlying the entrance to his lab. He hated what he saw, loathed himself for what he had been contributing to for years. The repulsor on his palm brightened and he blasted his reflection in the middle glass pane before he spun and shattered the rest before finally walking away from the mess.**

“In that moment, I hated myself. I hated what my weapons had been used for. I had to stop it,” explained Tony quietly. “It’s why I decided to go to Afghanistan.”

**Wearing a black jumpsuit, Tony stepped onto a black grid. Panels in the floor opened up beneath him, and the boot and leg pieces of the Iron Man Mark III, painted red and gold, were fastened over his feet and legs.**

**From above, a large robot reached down with the front and back pieces of the suit, the Arc Reactor glowed in front of it as the chest plate slammed down, followed by the pieces for the arms and hands-on Tony’s outstretched arms. Last came the helmet from the side, clamping round underneath his chin.**

**Intensity bore from his eyes and the faceplate fell into place.**

Sam swallowed, his eyes a little fearful. “You really are intent on a one-man mission there.”

“When you learn your weapons have been sold illegally by someone who you thought was a family friend and business partner…” Tony shook his head. “I can’t describe the emotions.”

“But you wanted to fix it,” added Rhodey. He sighed, his shoulders drooping. “I wish I hadn’t turned my back on you… Would you have come to me before going if I’d been interested?”

Tony frowned. “I don’t think I would. I still would have done what I did in Afghanistan. I had to stop my weapons from being used to terrorise the innocent. If the US Army wasn’t going to step in, I had to do it myself.”

Rhodey could accept that. “If they’d known, they would have attempted to stop you.”

“I know.”

**There was a brief shot of Tony flying through the air, speeding across towards his goal.**

“How long did it take you to get to Afghanistan?” asked Bruce.

“I pushed the suit as fast as it would go. It took me a few hours. The suit can fly faster than any plane. If a direct flight was available from Malibu to Afghanistan it would take about fifteen hours. For me… Around three hours of flight time.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “That quick?”

Tony inclined his head. “My suit is faster than the QuinJet. I can get to anywhere in the world within a fraction of the usual time.”

“How did you occupy your mind for three hours?” queried Wanda.

“I didn’t. I kept thinking about Stane and how I had allowed myself to become complacent and not take any interest in my company, and how people had gotten hurt because of it.” Tony leaned back. “And, in that time, I also had JARVIS take scans from the satellites circulating above Afghanistan to find the exact locations of my weapons so I could get in and out as fast as possible. The time went by quite quickly. I was very focused on one thing. It helped.”

Wanda nodded thoughtfully. 

**Gulmira itself was in chaos. Villagers were running, trying to flee as missiles landed in the high dunes. Terrorists chased them, shooting them down, tearing men from their families, and shoving women and children to their comrades.**

**One of the terrorists, whose name was Abu and had been heavily involved in Tony’s captivity, yelled in Arabic for the weapons they were collecting to be stacked and to clear out all of the houses.**

Steve’s eyes hardened. “I don’t like that guy. He’s a bully.”

Tony wanted to comment but stopped himself.

**A family was dragged out at gunpoint, the man separated from his wife and children. His wife was screaming and the son ran towards his father. Abu grabbed the boy and threw him away from his father. The father fell to the ground and was beaten in the chest. Abu ordered for the man to be shot, informing his men they were all incompetent.**

“Why shoot them?” Thor asked angrily.

“Because the men were more likely to fight back than the women or the children,” answered Sam. “They could use the women to look after them and for pleasure, and they could take the children and convert them to their religion and their way of life. They always needed to boost their numbers. The men were unlikely to be converted.”

“There is no honour in what they did,” grated Thor.

“There never was,” continued Sam. “Terrorists live their lives very differently to the rest of us. It was always the innocents who suffered.” 

**Forced to his knees, a gun pointed at his head, the father’s son was still yelling for his father.**

**Then something came flying head-first from the sky and lands on their left knee and right foot and stands up to face the man who had just been about to shoot their unarmed prisoner.**

A few of them cheered at Tony’s entrance.

“That was iconic!” cheered Sam.

“Just came out of nowhere,” agreed Bucky.

**A cascade of bullets ricocheted against the fully powered Iron Man suit, however only a few dents were made, and Tony punched the man away. The repulsors from his hands killed two of the men, then he raised both and turned to the two trucks where the civilians were being held hostage. The terrorists had guns held to the heads of the women.**

“Cowards,” grated Steve, clenching his fists. “I’m glad you went in, Tony.”

**Tony lowers his arms, powering down.**

**Inside the helmet, the targeting system was classifying all terrorists as hostile and all hostages as civilians.**

“Oh, I like that,” grinned Sam. “Giving the illusion you are standing down but in reality…”

Tony smirked. “Planning something else.”

**Mini missile launchers appear on the top of his shoulder and target the hostiles, killing them instantly before they had any time to react.**

“Smooth,” complimented Rhodey. “If we had tech like that, we would have gone in. The only reason we started to gain ground against the Ten Rings was that Tony got involved as Iron Man. He was able to get into areas we couldn’t.”

Tony elaborated further. “I didn’t trust the military with my tech either, not after this. They were lucky I allowed Rhodey to have his suit.”

“I think you mean stole,” replied Rhodey wisely.

“Hah! No, I let you take it. If I hadn’t wanted you to have it, I wouldn’t have let you get into the suit in the first place. There is a difference between the two.”

“When did you steal the suit?” asked Steve.

Rhodey exchanged a glance with Tony. “I’m pretty sure you’ll see it happen.” 

**The boy rushed towards his father and the two hugged as Tony stomped past in the suit, his mission not yet over with yet.**

“I’m glad you saved them,” smiled Wanda. “They didn’t deserve to have their family torn apart.”

Tony’s lips twitched. “Neither did you, Wanda.”

“It’s not your fault,” she answered, realising to hear it from her would maybe help him make peace with it. Tony’s only crime had been to trust others, and she couldn’t hold it against him for that.

“But it was alright for you to tear me away from my family?” snarked Clint.

Tony rolled his eyes. “I think you did that yourself, Barton!”

“He does have a point, Clint. You did choose to retire,” Natasha pointed out. “And you made the choice to come when Steve wanted you to. You had a choice not to.”

Clint pursed his lips. He didn’t like being told it was his choices which had got him into the mess in the first place.

“Clint…” Steve started, “I shouldn’t have asked for you to come. I’m sorry. I was concerned about Wanda.”

“Actually, Rogers,” interjected Tony, “you weren’t. Why not be truthful for a change instead of hiding secrets?”

Steve glowered.

“Most of what you did was to protect your friend. And, yes, there were other Winter Soldiers in hiding, but if you’d come to me legitimately and instead of trying to do things yourself and illegally, the situation may have all turned out differently. We might not have had our fight in the first place,” stated Tony.

Steve didn’t reply, only lowered his head, not wanting to believe how much he had done wrong to the team by his own choices.

**Abu had been watching from behind a wall and pulled out a phone and quickly began dialling.**

**A red metal fist slammed through the wall to Abu’s right and pulls him through the wall, sending him crashing to the ground in front of the villagers.**

**Tony engaged his thrusters, lifting himself a few metres into the air. “He’s all yours,” he declared. He flew up into the sky whilst the civilians looked at Abu and he at them, as they approached him.**

“Did they kill him?” Thor enquired.

Tony shrugged. “Don’t know. I presume so. At that point, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to destroy all my weapons so they couldn’t be used against innocents again.” 

**Iron Man flew through the air, across the mountains, targeting his weapons on the ground below in the hands of the terrorists. The targeting system found the Jericho missiles. Then he was hit out of the sky by a blast from a tank and Tony landed with a loud bang on the ground, creating a ditch as he crash-landed.**

“You were targeting anything that was yours?” Bruce asked.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. Not just the Jericho. I wasn’t going to let them have any of my weapons, not even the ones which were purported to be fake by the black market.”

“Mr. Stark was very thorough in his mission,” stated Vision. “JARVIS was able to hack into remote satellites and use the data to map exactly where the weapons were being stored. And which ones, that were being sold in Mr. Stark’s name, were not genuine missiles from the Stark range.”

“I’d already witnessed my weapons being used against the US army and myself…” Tony shook his head. “Never again.”

**Hauling himself up out of the ditch, Tony faced the tank which fired another missile at him. A slight lean out of the way kept him out of its path. He raised his right arm and fires one small missile which hits the tank.**

**Turning away, Tony stomped away as the tank exploded in a fiery bang.**

“You definitely mean business…” observed Sam. What he was seeing was the side of Tony that he never wanted to meet in person. He was sure he may have had a glimpse of him when he’d tried to help Rhodey after Vision’s attack had knocked him out of the sky.

“I could have done much worse to you than I did, Sam,” recognised Tony. “You’re lucky.” 

**Starting towards the Jericho missile launcher, Tony wasn’t fazed by the men beginning to fire a cascade of bullets at him. A waste of bullets. Tony moved to hover in the air. He targeted the Jericho missiles with his repulsor and fired off a single shot at the base of it.**

**The missile exploded.**

“Another one down,” breathed out Wanda, relieved. “How many were there?”

“Quite a few,” answered Tony, “that and a stash of other weapons that I didn’t want them to have. Much as I was proud of the weapons, I designed… I knew I couldn’t clear my conscience if I didn’t do something about stopping the endless circle, I had become trapped in. Taking them all out and stopping production was the only way I could see which would help. I may have been hasty in my actions but I was trying to protect those I had unwittingly put in harm's way.”

Steve’s lips twitched. “You did the right thing, Tony.” 

**As Tony shot up into the sky, Raza arrived with a row of trucks, stopping in dismay, briefly glimpsing the Iron Man suit as it vanished into the sky above.**

“He knows it’s you, doesn’t he?” asked Bruce.

“I’d guess so. He found the remains of the other suit in the desert. He would have put two-and-two together. A more advanced suit than the one his former captive escaped in? Could only be him coming back for more,” snorted Tony. “I never had any other dealings with him, as much as I would have liked to have killed him for putting me through what he did.”

**Across in California, at the Edwards Air Force Base, a military surveillance screen had picked up the explosions happening in Afghanistan. The General asked if they were clear to go in there.**

Sam pulled a face. “That’s not good.”

“Why not?” Steve was surprised. “Tony’s doing them a favour.”

“Unauthorised action in a restricted area is bad news for Tony,” pointed out Rhodey. “And they wouldn’t have known it was him.”

**The Private verified they hadn’t been as the terrorists had been using human shields.**

Steve tutted. He still believed they should have gone in regardless of that factor. It would have been something he would have done. Better to save many than just a few.

**The General needed to be put through to the state as all at once the phone lines went crazy as the calls came through, asking who was involved with what was happening in Afghanistan. They all needed answers and they were trying to find the target again before the order came through that they wanted Colonel Rhodes from Weapons Development to come down.**

“Oh, this is bad,” swallowed Bruce. “Why do I get the feeling something is going to happen?”

Tony and Rhodey exchanged glances and winced. Bruce wasn’t far wrong.

**As Iron Man continued to streak across the sky, Rhodey entered the intelligence room. They informed him they’d run an ID check and it had been cross-referenced with all known databases and they had come up with nothing. Rhodey wanted to know if there were any high-altitude surveillance in the region. The Private confirmed they had an AWAC and a Global Hawk in the area.**

“Didn’t know you’d gone global, Hawkeye,” grinned Natasha, poking fun at the archer.

“I may have good vision, but I’m not that good Natasha,” clarified Clint. But he did smile at her joke, leaning back in the chair. 

**Rhodey considered that the new technology had appeared out of nowhere and why hadn’t it appeared on radar.**

Rhodey shifted in his seat. “Why didn’t we detect you sooner?”

“JARVIS was scrambling the signals,” answered Tony, shrugging his soldiers. “When I started to make some noise, I wanted people to know I was there, so we dropped the scrambler so I could be detected.”

Rhodey frowned.

“You would have noticed the explosions anyway. No point in hiding myself once I had sneaked into the area.” Tony winced. “Though I didn’t anticipate your response.”

Grinning, the Colonel replied, “You learned your lesson there, alright.” 

**The technicians had managed to get a minimal radar cross-section. Rhodey asked if it was stealth. They replied that it was tiny and they believed it to be an unmanned aerial vehicle. When they asked Rhodey what they were dealing with, he asked if he could make a call.**

“Did you usually call Stark?” queried Sam.

“For anything, we didn’t recognise, yes,” replied Rhodey. “If anyone could get new technology into a war zone, it would be Tony Stark. He was always experimenting. He did have a bit of a history of doing it so he was always the first port of call.”

Tony raised his hands. “I liked to push the boundaries. Sometimes it was the only way to efficiently test new technology, and I knew I could trust Rhodey.”

**A shrill ringtone sounded inside the helmet of the suit. “Hello?” Tony answered.**

**“Tony?”**

**He couldn’t identify the speaker over the noise of the flight. “Who’s this?”**

**“It’s Rhodey.”**

**“Sorry, hello?” Tony teased.**

**“I said it’s Rhodey.”**

Rhodey threw him an irritated glance. “Were you doing it deliberately?”

“No. I couldn’t actually hear you. It was only when JARVIS put up your photo on the viewscreen that I realised it was you.”

**“Speak up, please,” requested Tony. On Tony’s display appeared Rhodey’s name, title, and credentials with a photo.**

**“What in hell is that noise?” Rhodey, back in the intelligence room put a finger to his ear so he could hear better.**

The Avengers laughed.

“Didn’t it raise your suspicions?” Bucky questioned.

Rhodey nodded. “It did.”

**Continuing to fly through the air, Tony tried to divert attention from what he was really doing. “Oh, yeah, I’m driving with the top down.”**

**“Yeah, well, I need your help right now.”**

“You believed that?” Steve asked incredulously.

“Driving with the top down was what Tony did on a regular basis,” defended Rhodey. His eyelids lowered. “Though it was usually easier to hear him…”

**Tony snarked back. “It’s funny how that works, huh?”**

Rhodey cringed. “I get why you were mad.”

“I forgave you long ago.” Tony smiled warmly at his friend.

**“Yeah. Speaking of funny, we’ve got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few clicks from where you were being held captive.”**

**“Well, that’s a, uh, that’s a hotspot. Sounds like someone stepped in and did your job for you, huh?” Tony was slightly breathless, something which Rhodey picked up on.**

**“Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?” Rhodey queried.**

“He’s suspicious…” intoned Sam. “He’s not going to think you’re driving…”

**“I’m not, I’m just jogging in the canyon.”**

Sam groaned. “You’ve just blown your own cover.” He shook his head.

**“I thought you were driving.”**

**Tony knew he was caught in a bad lie. “Yeah, right, I was just driving to the canyon where I’m going to jog.”**

Everyone laughed at Tony’s attempt to save his lie.

“Do you ever go for a jog, Stark?” asked Clint. “Or do you just sit at home all day and pretend to be brainy?”

“Pretend to be brainy?” Tony was aghast at Clint’s words. “Better to be pretending to be brainy then holding a grudge against the person who helped your family whilst you were in jail… Oh, and who also got you your terms so you could return home to them!”

Clint’s face paled. “That was you?”

“Do you really think I’m that heartless, Barton? I knew Rogers was going to try to break you all out. Why do you think you got the offer to return to your family and charges dropped if you consented to house arrest for two years? If Rogers had broken you out before the offer was in place, you wouldn’t have been able to return home. You would have been immediately arrested.”

Clint’s cheeks warmed red. “I didn’t know. Laura never said.”

“I asked her not to. But I kept your family protected from Ross. And, I had no obligation to do so.” Tony folded his arms across his chest, his point made.

Clint sat quietly, mulling over everything Tony had revealed.

**“You sure you don’t have any tech in that area I should know about?” asked Rhodey, his eyes focusing on the moving target on the big screen in front of him.**

**“Nope.” Tony was emphatic about that.**

**Major Allen confirmed they had spotted the bogey and needed Whiplash to come in hot.**

**“Okay, good, ‘cause I’m staring at one right now, and it’s about to be blown to kingdom come.”**

“Yup, it's bad,” swallowed Bruce. He shook his head. “Only you could get the army to try to blow you out of the sky.”

**Behind the suit, two jets veer into place.**

**“Yep, that’s my exit!”**

**Tony twisted to the left, rolling away, heading off in another direction. The jets followed.**

**The pilot, Whiplash One, confirmed they had got the bogey in its sights.**

**Rhodey wanted to know what it was, however, Whiplash One couldn’t identify it. They couldn’t get radio contact either. Rhodey cleared them to engage the target.**

“Why didn’t you just tell him it was you?” Bucky observed Tony’s reaction carefully.

Tony sighed. “I didn’t know who I could trust. I’d been betrayed by someone close to me… how could I trust the army? And, Rhodey, hadn’t been supportive. Who could I trust?”

“Pepper,” Steve pointed out.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Other than her.”

**On Tony’s display, a message flashed up, urging him to engage the supersonic flight. “Hit it!” The suit burst into speed, streaking off into the clouds in an effort to lose its pursuers.**

**Whiplash One reported the unidentified object had just gone supersonic! And he had a lock on the target.**

“You went supersonic and they could still get a lock on you?” Bruce gulped.

“Don’t worry. They didn’t succeed in blowing me out of the sky,” reassured Tony. “I’m still here.”

“Yeah, but that didn’t stop something else blowing up though, did it?” Rhodey retorted.

Tony winced.

“I really hope it isn’t what I think he means,” swallowed Bruce.

Thor leaned into Bruce. “The planes?”

“Yep. Something else blew up. Has to be one of them,” deduced Bruce.

Everyone exchanged worried glances as they watched the pursuit continue. 

**A missile streaked towards Tony.**

**JARVIS stated quite calmly. “Inbound missile.”**

**“Flares!” Tony ordered.**

**The flares engaged and the missile hit them, the resulting explosion sent Tony through the air.**

**The explosion didn’t impair the Air Force planes as they shot through the flames following Tony’s descent as he spiralled through the air, attempting to re-engage the thrusters. His boosters fired just as one of the Air Force pilots got a lock on the suit. Shots grazed the suit as he tried to dodge in mid-air.**

**“Deploy flaps!”**

**Sections of the suit flared out, halting the flight of the suit as the two aircraft shot past. The pilots reported their target had jumped off the radar and the sat visual had been lost.**

“What happened?” shouted Steve. “Where did you go?”

“You’ll see…” Tony grimaced. He hadn’t had any choice. The only way out of the situation was to try to make them believe they had lost him. He hadn’t anticipated them locating him hanging onto one of the underbellies of the fighter craft.

**They were constantly scanning for any sign of the target. They believed the bogey had been handled.**

**Rhodey started at the lost visual, shaking his head slightly before his cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Tony “The Starkster” Stark.**

“The Starkster?” Clint sniggered.

“It was an old college nickname Tony had,” reported Rhodey, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I just liked to keep using it on my phone.”

**“Hello?” he answered.**

**“Hi, Rhodey, it’s me,” wheezed Tony.**

**“It’s who?”**

“That really came back and bit me in the backside,” groaned Tony.

Rhodey felt a bit guilty. “I thought you had done it deliberately before which is why I did it back to you.”

Tony shrugged. “I know. It doesn’t matter. We got everything sorted.”

**“I’m sorry, it is me,” Tony sought to clarify. “You asked. What you are asking about is me.”**

**“No, see, this isn’t a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?” Rhodey reprimanded.**

Rhodey shook his head. “I really wish I’d picked up on it being you before you had to spell it out for me.”

**Tony winced. “This is not a piece of equipment. I’m in it. It’s a suit. It’s me.”**

**Rhodey was shocked by the admission.**

**The Major wanted to know more. “Rhodey, you got anything for me?”**

**Rhodey glanced at his superior, lowering the phone gently, not knowing what to say.**

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sam barked, surprised at Rhodey’s lack of attempt to help Tony out of a bad situation.

“I froze…” admitted the Colonel. “I just… didn’t know what to say. I was shocked it was Tony out there.”

**The pilots in the two aircraft marked their position and began to veer away, and that was when one of the pilots saw the suit clinging to the hull of the plane. The pilot reacted, informing his superiors it looked like a man.**

**In the intelligence base, Rhodey gaped at the screen as the full view of the suit came on the screen.**

“Shit.” Sam pulled a face, shaking his head. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“I hoped they wouldn’t see me,” explained Tony sadly.

“This is tense,” swallowed Wanda, her face pale.

Tony was still surprised by the concern she seemed to have for him.

**The plane rolled in the air in an effort to dislodge the target. It didn’t take long before Tony lost his grip and he went falling back, right into Whiplash One’s wing, breaking it off completely.**

Sam almost jumped out of his chair. “NO!”

Bruce closed his eyes, wincing.

“This is when we need Thor,” pointed out Steve. “He’d be able to save the pilot.”

Tony frowned. Did Steve believe he wouldn’t try to help if he had the chance?

“He’ll eject,” observed Bucky. “Parachute will deploy. He’ll be fine.”

Natasha caught the glimpse of uneasiness between Tony and Rhodey.

**The pilot pulled the ejector seat and as he shot into the sky, the plane exploded in a ball of blazing fire.**

**Whiplash Two was asked if he had seen a chute deployed. He hadn’t.**

**Everyone in the control room was worried, watching the events unfold, horrified by it.**

**Whiplash One’s chute was jammed. The pilot was falling to his death.**

Bucky’s face paled at once. He’d assumed the parachute would have deployed. “Shit.”

“I really hope-” Steve began but stopped when he saw **Tony reappearing onscreen, flying down towards the tumbling pilot.** “Oh, thank god, you’re helping!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” asked Tony, raising an eyebrow.

“No… but…” Steve couldn’t finish what he was thinking, nor did Tony want to know either.

**“Whiplash Two, reengage. If you get a clear shot, you take it.”**

**The second plane veered into position.**

“He must be crazy!” shouted Sam. “Can’t he see you’re trying to help?”

“For all he knows I could be attempting to kill his pilot,” said Tony.

**Rhodey attempted to intervene. “Major, we don’t know what we’re shooting at. Call off the Raptors.”**

Sam rolled his eyes. “Now, you try to help?”

“My friend’s life was on the line!” argued the Colonel.

**The Major was not buying it. “That thing just took out an F-22 inside a legal no-fly zone. Whiplash Two, if you have a clear shot, take it!”**

“See, this would have been the point where I would have admitted I knew who was inside the suit. It might have made him call off the other pilot,” suggested Bruce. “Might not have worked…”

“But I don’t think anyone would have authorised the continual shooting down of Tony Stark,” added Tony, grinning slightly.

Rhodey agreed. “If I’d said your name, he would have pulled them back. When you revealed yourself to be Iron Man, the Major was shocked he’d nearly killed you. Though he wasn’t too impressed you destroyed one of our planes and snuck into Afghanistan without authorisation.”

Tony grinned. “But he didn’t complain.”

“I’d say you were lucky he didn’t,” said Steve.

“Only because he didn’t want it to leak out into the press, he had nearly killed Tony Stark,” pointed out Rhodey. “It wouldn’t have looked good on his record.”

**JARVIS warned Tony he’d been re-engaged and suggested executing evasive manoeuvres. Tony kept going, reaching out his left hand and pulled the parachute handle-free, engaging it, slowing the pilot’s descent, and saving his life.**

**Whiplash One confirmed his comrades’ chute had been activated.**

**Everyone in the control room was cheering.**

**As Tony flew off over the terrain, the other F-22 was called off.**

Sam leaned back in his chair relieved. “That was intense.”

“He only called them off because Tony saved the pilot.” Rhodey reminded them. “But he did say, if the same signal appeared again without authorisation, he would shoot you down.”

“But when it did, you stopped him,” Tony remembered. Rhodey had helped to keep the skies clear when he had gone to confront Stane.

**Rhodey spoke to Tony over the phone. “Tony, you still there?”**

**Tony was relieved the other F-22 had been called off. “Hey, thanks.”**

**“Oh my God, you crazy son of a bitch. You owe me a plane. You know that, right?”**

**Tony chuckled. “Yeah, well, technically, he hit me. So, now are you going to come by and see what I’m working on?”**

**“No, no, no, no, no, no, the less I know, the better. Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?” queried Rhodey.**

**Tony thought the answer was obvious. “Training exercise, isn’t that the usual BS?”**

**“It’s not that simple,” denied Rhodey.**

“You used the training exercise excuse, didn’t you?” groaned Steve, shaking his head.

“It’s standard in the military, Steve,” explained Sam. “Best way to keep the media off our backs when events occur which we cannot explain.”

“Plus, we wanted to maintain the idea we hadn’t intervened in Gulmira. The ramifications of the Army entering Gulmira would have been problematic for us… Certain rules were in place and if they were proven to be broken, we could potentially be losing our jobs,” eluded Rhodey.

**The screen cut to Rhodey standing outside at a podium, making a statement to the press about the incident with the F-22, confirming the pilot was not injured.**

**Rhodey’s statement was being broadcast live on TV. At his home, Obadiah Stane watched, listening to the rest of Rhodey’s statement. The Colonel confirmed it was still unclear who or what had intervened in Gulmira, but he could assure them that the United States Government was not involved.**

**Obadiah frowned.**

“He knows,” observed Wanda quietly.

“He has a suspicion,” agreed Steve. “He might not know for sure…”

“He will soon,” said Tony, crossing his arms over his chest.

**Pepper made her way down the stairs to the workshop.**

**“Hey! Ow! Ah… ah!” Tony yelped.**

**“It’s a tight fit, Sir,” observed JARVIS. “Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt.”**

A few of the Avengers laughed, imagining what was happening that they couldn’t see.

**Pepper finally reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the shattered glass on the floor before finally looking up.**

**“Be gentle. This is my first time.” Tony stood on a raised platform, pieces of the Suit being removed one at a time by the arms of a larger robot embedded into the ceiling. “…designed this to come off so… OW! Hey! I really should able to…”**

Everyone stared.

“That’s how you used to get out of the suit?” Thor asked. “But… you’re usually so fast!”

“New technology at the time,” explained Tony. “Wasn’t possible. Plus, since I was trying to keep the suit a secret, I couldn’t exactly ask anyone for help.”

**“Please try not to move, sir,” advised the AI.**

**Pepper walks up, shock evident on her face. “What’s going on here?”**

**Everything stopped. Tony looks over at her, trying to figure out what to say. “Let’s face it. This is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”**

“What-” Thor began.

“You don’t want to know,” butted in Rhodey. “Pepper has seen things I haven’t. Nor do I hope to ever see.”

Tony felt bad for what Pepper had endured during her time as his assistant. She’d walked in on things she would never forget. Whether it was work-related incidents or personal ‘sexual’ encounters, she had maintained a professional attitude. When they’d got together, she’d know what she was letting herself in for. It hadn’t deterred her. He still wondered what she saw in him that made her want to stay with him.

**Pepper’s eyes widened as she studied the Suit Tony wore. “Are those bullet holes?”**

“I think if I’d seen that myself and I were your PA, Stark,” stated Sam, “I would have been handing in my notice then and there.”

“Pepper was loyal beyond what I expected of her,” added Tony quietly. “Regardless of the shit I pulled, she always stayed by my side.” 

**In Afghanistan, several black jeeps pulled up. Raza stood there waiting with a couple of guards. Obadiah Stane stepped out of one of the jeeps, accompanied by men of his own. Obadiah cast his gaze around at the camp before stopping in front of Raza.**

Thor glared at the screen. “He was directly involved with your captors!”

“He sold me out,” affirmed Tony.

**“Welcome,” the terrorist said, noticing his guest studying the burn scar on his face. “Compliments of Tony Stark.”**

**“If you’d killed him when you were supposed to, you’d still have a face,” Stane remarked wryly.**

“Wait… They weren’t supposed to kidnap you?” asked Steve.

Tony shook his head. “No, they weren’t. Stane never told them the name of the business partner he wanted them to kill. But when they found out it was me… Raza changed the orders and had me captured instead. He wanted more money before he would kill me. In the meantime, he’d try to get me to work for him.”

**“You paid trinkets to kill a Prince,” commented Raza.**

Rhodey clenched his teeth together. “Stane didn’t pay up though, did he? If he had, they would have killed you.”

Tony frowned. “I don’t think they would have killed me. They’d have kept trying to get me to build weapons for them. If I had created the Jericho though… like they wanted… I think they would have killed me… They wouldn’t have given me the chance to leave.”

**“Show me the weapon,” ordered Stane.**

**“Come,” indicated Raza. “Leave your guards outside.”**

**Obadiah signals his men to stay outside, following Raza into the tent.**

**Pieces of the Mark I had been placed into position, giving a rudimentary glimpse of what it had been like when Stark had torn his way through the camp in an effort to escape.**

**“His escape bore unexpected fruit,” stated Raza, walking around to a table at the side of the tent.**

**“So, this is how he did it,” breezed Obadiah. He folded his arms across his chest as he inspected the Suit.**

“I don’t like the expression on his face,” swallowed Steve. “He’s up to something.”

Sam was frowning, his mind working. “The other suit… The big one that was all over the papers… That was Stane, wasn’t it? It was announced he’d died that night but…” He caught Tony’s eyes, who gave a small perceptible nod. “Oh.”

“What is it?” Steve had caught the tail end of the conversation.

Sam glanced at his friend. “I think you’ll find out if you just watch Steve.” 

**“This is only a first, crude effort. Stark has perfected his design. He has made a masterpiece of death. A man with a dozen of these can rule all of Asia. And you dream of Stark’s throne.”**

“He did realise it was you,” affirmed Bruce. “And now he’ll probably try to make a deal with Stane to produce more!”

Tony was relieved that Raza was no longer a problem. But the thought of the Iron Man suit designs being spread across the world for anyone to design them was a terrifying thought. Though a lot of companies had tried to replicate the technology, they hadn’t been advanced enough to make it as sophisticated as Tony’s models.

**Obadiah had been circling the suit whilst Raza spoke. It was only now that he stopped and turned to look back at Raza, his expression revealing nothing.**

**“We have a common enemy,” continued Raza, sitting in the chair at the table. “If we are still in business…”**

**Stane inspected the empty hole in the centre of the chest plating of the suit.**

**“I will give you these designs as a gift, and in turn, I hope you’ll repay me with a gift of Iron soldiers.” Raza raised a drink.**

“I don’t think that is what Stane wants,” observed Clint. “He’s remained way too quiet for him to be interested in any sort of deal.”

**Obadiah smiled, and walked up to Raza, patting the terrorist on the soldier, and then, there was a shrill, metallic, buzzing whine. In both of Stane’s ears something glowed. In his hand he held a small object which had been hidden in his hand as he shined the light at the back of Raza’s head.**

**Raza gasped, then couldn’t move. Paralysed.**

“Yeah, he’s gonna steal the reconstructed suit,” said Sam.

**Then Obadiah spoke briefly in Urdu. “This is the only gift you shall receive.”**

**Raza’s face was steadily growing whiter.**

“What is that device?” asked Steve.

“It was a piece of technology I designed and a prototype was created but it was never approved for use. Stane assured me the device had been destroyed… In fact, he stole it and used it for himself,” explained Tony. “It paralysed you for about fifteen minutes. It’s not a device I am proud of for creating. If it helps, the device no longer exists.”

**“Technology,” mused Stane, “it has always been your Achilles heel in this part of the world.” He pulled out the earplugs from his ears and put the device back in his pocket. “Don’t worry. It’ll only last for fifteen minutes.” He patted Raza’s head. “That’s the least of your problems.”**

**He left the tent, striding past his men who had already detained the rest of Raza’s men. “Crate up the armour and the rest of it.” He carried on back towards the Jeep. “All right, let’s finish up here.”**

“He killed them all,” said Natasha. “One cell wiped out.”

“As much as I loathe Stane for betraying me,” said Tony quietly, “the fact he ensured Raza’s death is one of the only things I’m glad he did.”

“It also meant the US Army could go in and retake more territory,” pointed out Rhodey.

**Gunshots echoed through the air as Stane got into the SUV, already pulling out his cell phone to make a very important call. He wanted Sector 16 set up underneath the Arc Reactor and required the data to be masked. He ordered the recruitment of their top engineers. “I want a prototype right away.”**

Tony leaned back. “Now you know. Stane sold me to the terrorists. And you wonder why I have issues with trusting people? Don’t keep secrets from me. It doesn’t end well for the people that do.”

Steve looked ashamed. “I’m sor-”

Tony held a hand up. “I don’t need your sympathy. I just need you to understand why I am the way I am.”

Even though they hadn’t even finished watching one movie yet, Steve was beginning to understand Tony just that little bit better. And, he wondered if maybe the tear between the Avengers could eventually be fixed.

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!
> 
> It is getting difficult to maintain good conversations between characters. 
> 
> Clint is starting to be a bit more open-minded about Tony. Though we do not know for sure, we know both Scott and Clint took home arrest after they were captured from the Airport fight. I don't think it is something Ross would have given them the option for, but I could see Tony trying to make things easier for them if they agreed to stay away from the Avengers. I think if they had escaped when Steve had gone to the prison to rescue the others, then the deal they had to stay with their families wouldn't have happened if they had escaped with Steve. I think its possible a deal would have been reached and they declined to leave or had deals in place. More on Tony's involvement in that as we go along. 
> 
> Steve says he would sacrifice the few for the many. His actions in the movies do tell me he would allow people to die if it meant saving the majority. Unless its Bucky. The voice is referring to Steve denying Vision the opportunity to sacrifice himself to destroy the Mind Stone in Infinity War. I never really liked how it is alright for Steve to sacrifice himself, but not for other people to do the same if they had the chance. Steve, at this point in time in this fic, cannot believe he would be unable to sacrifice the few for the many. Watching Infinity War is going to be an eye-opener for Steve, but it will be a while before we get to that point. 
> 
> The next chapter will be posted next Sunday!
> 
> Until then, 
> 
> the-writer1988


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obadiah steals the Arc Reactor from Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> This chapter is over 10,000 words. I'm honestly surprised I am managing to get out a chapter a week. I'm currently writing the final chapter of this specific story which will be posted next Sunday. 
> 
> After that, it will probably be a few weeks before I begin posting the second story in this series which will show Iron Man 2. 
> 
> Finally, thank you to everyone who has commented, kudos and bookmarked so far!

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Nine**

**Pepper swung open the door to Tony’s workshop. He was busy working on the Mark III.**

**“Hey. You busy?” he asked. “You mind if I send you on an errand?”**

“You didn’t even say hello?” remarked Steve. He shook his head. “I’m not surprised.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Remember, Pepper and I had a rapport going. This is how we rolled.”

“He did have a lot on his mind,” pointed out Sam, defending the Inventor. “And, you’ve done it yourself too, Steve.”

Steve frowned but didn’t say anything more. 

**Pepper walked towards him, hands on her hips.**

“She looks like she’s got something important to say, something you may not like,” observed Clint. “That look is the exact same one I get from Laura.”

**Tony approached her. “I need you to go to my office. You’re going to hack into the mainframe and you’re going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip.” He handed Pepper the small portable drive. “This’ll get you in. It’s probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading.”**

“That’s a lot to ask of her,” pointed out Bruce. “You could be putting her at harm by asking her to do that.”

“I was aware of it. But I couldn’t risk going myself. Stane would have been on me in a second if he’d seen me anywhere near my office. Pepper had been visiting S.I numerous times and using my computer. Stane wouldn’t be as suspicious of her as he would be of me,” explained Tony. “Though I do recognise asking Pepper wasn’t the best thing to do. I could have gone at night myself and snuck in. But… Time was of essence.”

**“And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?” asked Pepper cautiously.**

**“Same drill,” Tony verified. “They’ve been dealing under the table, and I’m going to stop them. I’m going to find my weapons and destroy them.”**

Wanda sighed, her voice light. “You wanted them gone so others would not be hurt.” She knew that now.

Tony inclined his head. “The best way to do it efficiently. There was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t wait for investigations to be carried out.”

**“Tony,” she started, “you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you’re going to start all of this again.”**

Tony bowed his head. Pepper had always had issues with his use of the suits and the mission he had given himself. His continued use of them had caused them to take a break from one another, especially after the Ultron incident. The Accords were supposed to be the middle-ground. He’d only use the suits when he really needed to, something which she had agreed to.

As a result, their relationship was now stronger than ever. They were engaged and planning a wedding.

But he’d nearly lost her at this point. She had nearly walked away from him.

Because she was afraid of losing him.

He knew that now. Her fear of losing him had driven her to walk away after Ultron.

Steve shifted in his seat. “She did walk away, didn’t she?”

Tony knew he was talking about their ‘break’. “She did. But she came back. She was afraid of losing me. And… the Suits? They consumed my time. I had to find a balance between the two. Sometimes we have to make compromises to things we do not agree with. We can’t always have our own way.”

Steve looked thoughtful.

**Tony studied the schematics in front of him. “There is nothing except this.” He faced her again. “There is no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else.”**

Sam frowned. “What were you going to do after you’d found all your weapons?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead…” admitted Tony. On reflection, it was probably something he should have considered. He’d been so consumed with stopping his weapons falling into the wrong hands, he hadn’t once considered what he would do next once he had succeeded in completing his mission. He would have dealt with Stane eventually, probably sooner rather than later. “Other than finding a way to boot Stane from his controlling interest in the company… I think I would have moved forward as I did, finding new areas to go into.”

“I always believed Stark Industries just dealt in weapons,” revealed Wanda. “I thought you still did.”

Tony shook his head. “No. The only weapons I still deal in is for my team to use.” His eyes flickered to Steve. “Preferably not against myself.”

Steve winced, as did a few of the others.

“I will never make a profit from weapons again,” declared Tony. “There is something out there… coming for us. I have to be prepared for it. Otherwise…” he swallowed. “We lose.” He glanced briefly at Wanda. “You know what I mean, Wanda.”

The Sokovian Witch shrunk back. She knew what he referred to.

“Wanda?” Steve asked cautiously. “What does he mean?”

She didn’t want to say. She felt ashamed of her actions, of what she had forced Stark to see. Her actions had caused Ultron. “I think you’ll find out…” she replied. She couldn’t say, not to anyone else, not until she and Stark had talked and cleared the air between them.

**“Is that so?” Pepper said coldly. “Then I quit.” She placed the drive back on the table and turned to walk away.**

**“You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction.”**

Sam nodded. “He has a point. Why, when he’s trying to do some good, that she turns and walks away?”

“Because Pepper didn’t understand why he was doing what he was,” explained Rhodey. “None of us did. We expected our friend to come home to us. We didn’t recognise what changes he may have gone through in Afghanistan or what effect it would have on him. If I’d been a better friend… I would have seen it.”

A small smile crossed Tony’s face. “You’ve more than made up for it. Stop beating yourself up.”

**Pepper stopped at the doorway and faced him.**

**“And now that I’m trying to protect the people that I put in harm’s way, you’re going to walk out?”**

**“You’re going to kill yourself, Tony. I’m not going to be a part of it.”**

Tony sighed. “That’s what Pepper is still afraid of. She was just one reason why I signed the Accords.” He glanced at the others. “We disagree over the Accords – all of us do – there are things in them I disagree with. But… signing them, and trying to better myself by working with the Governments of the world… She came back. That was the compromise I mentioned earlier. In practice, the Accords work well. I’ve never been denied a request to go somewhere to help across the world.”

“Wait… you can request to go to places?” asked Sam, surprised.

“Yes…” Tony had a sneaking suspicion none of them had ever really bothered to read the Accords. They hadn’t really had the time to properly digest all the information for them to make an informed decision. Steve had just said ‘no’ and everyone had followed. “Did you think we couldn’t?”

“I thought we could only go where they told us to…” admitted Clint. “That we didn’t have a choice.”

Tony fought the urge to roll his eyes in despair. “How many of you took the time to read the Accords before signing them?”

Rhodey, Vision, and Natasha both raised their hands.

It made sense. Those who had signed had taken the time to go through the Accords. The ones that hadn’t…

“I flicked through them,” admitted Steve, “but then Peggy died and…”

Tony remembered. “And you had to leave.”

“Yeah, she was important to me. I couldn’t not be there for her.”

Tony felt a bit of anger wallow up inside of him. “Did it cross your mind other people may have cared about her too but recognised that the Accords had to be dealt with before we ran out of time?”

Steve frowned. “It was only me who knew her…” But when he saw Tony’s expression, he stopped. “You knew Peggy?”

“Of course, I did. Why did you think I didn’t?” Tony raised an eyebrow, waiting for Steve’s reaction. “She helped raise me.”

Steve was stunned by the admission. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Was I under any obligation to?” queried Tony. “It’s not a big secret. She and my father worked together for years. You could have found our relationship in public records. And they wouldn’t have left it out of her funeral service either – not that I was able to attend.”

“But…” Steve bit his lower lip. “They never mentioned you…”

“Erm, Steve…” Sam interrupted. “They did… Several times.”

Steve whipped his head to face Sam. “Really?”

“Yeah, they did.” Sam peered curiously at his friend. “I was surprised myself… How did you not notice?”

Steve hung his head in shame. “I think I was distracted… Thinking about Peggy and what I’d lost.”

Tony sighed. “You weren’t the only one who lost someone that day. Peggy was a big part of my childhood. We didn’t see each other as much as we could have done after my parents died, but she still cared. She still kept an eye out for me.”

“If she was close to you, why didn’t you attend her funeral?” Steve couldn’t believe someone close to Peggy wouldn’t be able to go.

Tony sighed, his shoulders sloping. “Because Peggy would have put duty before her personal life, especially with something as important as the Accords. If you’d read them properly, if you’d stayed instead of going, none of what happened between the Avengers would have succeeded. Steve, I would have given anything to be able to say goodbye to her. I knew her my whole life, but I know what she would have wanted me to do. She may have been the love of your life, but she moved on. I knew her longer than you did. And yet, I stayed because I knew that is what Aunt Peggy would have expected of me.”

Steve lowered his gaze. “I had to say goodbye… I do not regret it.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to apologise for that.”

Tony pursed his lips. He could have pressed this further but now wasn’t the time. Maybe Steve would realise when they watched Civil War. So many things could have been avoided if Steve had just _listened_ and _talked_ instead of being self-righteous and believing only, he could make the right decisions.

Everything could have been different.

**Tony sat down, not able to look at her. “I shouldn’t be alive unless it was for a reason. I’m not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do.”**

“Do you really believe you survived because there was a reason?” queried Natasha, curious over Tony’s state of mind.

Tony hesitated for a moment. “I survived injuries many others wouldn’t. I rescued myself from captivity. I could go on… I don’t believe in destiny. But I know I lived my life recklessly. I didn’t have a plan or a goal. I do now.”

“And that goal has evolved?” suggested Bruce.

“Ever since New York,” confirmed Tony. “I never told you what I saw through the portal, did I?”

The others shook their heads.

Tony’s lips twitched. “I’m sure you’ll see it.”

As much as Natasha wanted to press further, she recognised Tony didn’t want to talk about it unless he absolutely had to. Turning her attention back to the screen, she resumed watching, her mind contemplating her teammate. 

**His eyes found her, full of conviction, and knowing it was the right path to take. “And I know in my heart that it’s right.”**

**Pepper stared at him. She blew out a breath in a long sigh before coming back to the table and picking up the lock chip. “You’re all I have too, you know.”**

**Tony gazed at Pepper as she walked away.**

“Pepper doesn’t have a family?” asked Sam.

Tony shook his head, frowning gently. “Not really…” He wondered how best to explain this.

“Not really?” Steve wanted Tony to elaborate.

“She left home when she was young. Moved across the country. She still cares about them but she rarely sees them. I’ve met them… twice? Not entirely sure they approve of me though,” he grinned. “I think I was the reason she stayed at S.I for so long without moving on. I was her life. She lived it around me. She was always on-call with me if I ever needed anything. Working as my P.A isn’t conducive to having a family life. Any partners she may have had, never lasted long. She just couldn’t commit.” Tony placed his arms behind his head. “I know she’s trying to see her parents more often now. When she said ‘I was all she had too’, at the time I was, since she was hardly in contact with them. It has improved over the years. What she said then reflected the circumstances at the time.”

Steve’s lips twitched. “Family should always stay together.”

The Captain’s words were clear. He was eluding to the Avengers. Tony didn’t buy it.

“It’s not always possible.” Tony steeled his gaze. “Murders happen.”

Steve paled.

“Accidents happen…” the Inventor continued. “Arguments happen… Do you see my point?”

Steve swallowed. Everyone was watching the exchange, and Tony was certain there would be questions, not that he would deign to answer them.

“You’ve made your point,” agreed Steve, his voice slightly sullen.

**The elevator doors opened onto the top floor of Stark Industries, and Pepper stepped out of them, looking cautiously around. All the other offices on the floor were empty.**

Rhodey’s face crinkled. “I do not visit _Stark Industries_ a lot but isn’t it a bit unusual to have those offices around you empty?”

Tony discreetly nodded, speaking quietly. “Obadiah was beginning to make changes, small ones which I wouldn’t pick up on. That included redeploying a lot of my own office staff to other areas. He was very keen on being the sole operator of the company.”

**Pepper rushed to Tony’s office, slipped inside, and shut the door behind her. A quick uneasy glance over her shoulder confirmed no one else was in the office as she made her way towards the desk, which was situated right in front of the office door, in front of the large panelled windows. Sitting down in front of the computer, Pepper brushed the mouse, and the screen saver disappeared to show the Stark Industries logo, followed by a login and password.**

**Out of her purse came the lock chip and she inserted it into the USB port. The screen flashed with security breach signs momentarily before a box with lines of code appeared on the side, and within a few seconds the red box turned green and the words “Access Granted” replaced the warning.**

**The Ghost Drive appeared straight away and with it, eight other files marked with different names. The Confidential file showed invoices for weapons to the Middle East. The next file was Confidential again, with more shipping manifests. A TOP SECRET file illustrated design for a new Mark I suit with the words “Sector 16” on top of them.**

“All these files were on your computer?” asked Sam.

Wanda looked a little worried.

Tony nodded. “Obadiah knew I had a secure server in my office. And he was frequently working until late after I left each day before Afghanistan. He had full access to my office. And, during my captivity, he used my office instead of his own.”

Bruce’s face paled. “He wanted to incriminate you.”

“He did. But once I knew Stane was operating illegally, I knew how I could trap him. I hadn’t been at the office all this time and he’d continued using my desktop, uploading files and manifests every single day. The server was secure so I couldn’t access it at home,” explained Tony.

**Pepper had never heard of Sector 16 and wanted to know what Obadiah was up to.**

**She selected the Ultra_Secret file. A media player popped up and started to show a ransom video for Tony. Shocked, Pepper hastily asked for it to be translated and the Urdu language rapidly changed to English.**

**_“You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane…”_ **

**“Oh my god,” Pepper whispered shocked as she saw the condition Tony had been in during his captivity.**

**_…your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up.”_ **

Tony almost felt vindicated. “And, yet, they were supposed to kill me…”

“If they were paid to, why did they not do it?” queried Thor. “Even on Asgard, if we were paid to do things, even if they were not of value, we kept our promise to carry out any such task.”

“Be glad they didn’t kill him,” pointed out Bucky. “We wouldn’t have Iron Man now, would we?”

“Stane would be running _Stark Industries,_ he’d continue weaponizing the Middle East…” Rhodey shook his head. “The ramifications of Tony’s death would have been huge.”

Sam puckered his lips. “I’m assuming he didn’t pay them.”

“He didn’t,” confirmed Tony. “I looked into it. He refused. I think he knew I wouldn’t build the Jericho for them… I believe he hoped they’d kill me eventually.”

“For someone who knew you since you were a kid,” started Bruce, “he should have realised you’d build something to escape!”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t think he’d expected me to agree to work for them. I realised the only way I had a chance of escaping was to get my hands on tools and materials that would enable me to build my way out. It paid off as you saw.”

**Rapidly, Pepper started to copy the files onto the lock chip. She gasped when Obadiah’s voice interrupted her concentration.**

**“So, what are we going to do about this?” He stood in the doorway to the office, smiling at her. “Hmm?” He walked into the office, watched intently by Pepper.**

“Shit,” Steve whispered.

“Language,” reminded Tony. He felt he deserved the chance to say something back to Steve after all the criticising he was going through.

Steve winced but didn’t comment.

**Whilst he poured himself a drink from Tony’s alcohol store on a small side table, Pepper glanced at the screen and used the newspaper on the desk to discretely cover the lock chip plugged into the USB.**

“Too obvious!” cried Sam.

“He must have noticed it, surely?” Clint protested.

Vision spoke up. “From my memories of Mr. Stane as JARVIS, he was not… exceptionally bright. He was intelligent, however, I see no reason for him to suspect Miss Potts for being in Mr. Stark’s office.”

“But Pepper hadn’t visited Stark Industries for a while,” Tony pointed out. “It would have been suspicious.”

“And this was after Stane had revealed himself to you…” swallowed Natasha. “He may have suspected but couldn’t make a move.”

“He probably hoped you would be the one to go,” reasoned Bucky.

“Would he have tried anything if you’d gone in Pepper’s place?” Steve had the decency to look worried.

“I think if I’d given him a reason to, he would have done,” confirmed Tony, “which is why I didn’t want to put myself at risk by getting the information myself.”

“Reasonable,” nodded Sam, agreeing with Tony’s assessment of the situation.

**“I know what you are going through, Pepper,” he said, watching her at the desk. He sniffed the bottle he had just poured his drink from. “Ah, Tony, always gets the good stuff.”**

“Which he could afford anyway with the amount I paid him,” muttered Tony. “Plus, the bonuses he got and the added deals he made under the table too.” He rolled his eyes.

**A fake smile spread across Pepper’s face and she politely nodded. Her hand was on the mouse. The last of the files had finished copying to the drive. She clicked on screensaver just as Stane came to stand behind her to see what was on the screen.**

“That was lucky,” breezed Sam. “But she needs to get out now before he digs any further.”

“Not while she’s still copying files though,” worried Bruce.

**“I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead.” Stane sat on the desk. “Now, I realise, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. Breaks my heart.”**

Rhodey was angry. “How dare he! He didn’t care! I swear, Tones, if he was still alive right now…!”

Tony patted him on the shoulder. “I know.” He couldn’t blame Rhodey. They’d all trusted Stane and he’d betrayed them all.

Sam glared at the screen. “He’s a good actor.”

“Pepper knew then not to trust him and be wary,” said Tony. “Especially after the video she saw.” 

**“Well, he’s a complicated person,” answered Pepper cautiously.**

“You are,” agreed Steve. He was beginning to see Tony in a new light. Perhaps he’d finally be able to understand the man when this was all over.

**Stane sipped his drink.**

**“He’s been through a lot. I think he’ll be alright.”**

Tony shook his head. “Pepper… I’ll never be alright. I think she realises that now.”

Wanda looked sadly at him. Now she knew more about the man she had once hated, and that she could now sympathise with, a part of her could see how broken Tony Stark was. The guilt welled up inside her. She’d been responsible for some of that by influencing him with her powers when he’d taken the Sceptre from the Hydra base in Sokovia. _I never thought I’d feel sympathy for him…_ It was a strange feeling. 

**Stane mused at her. “You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn’t know how lucky he is.”**

“I do…” whispered Tony. He understood it now. A part of him couldn’t understand how Pepper could still be with him after all these years. Yet her love for him was as strong as ever. _And we’re going to get married._

“You two are meant to be, Tones,” replied Rhodey quietly.

Steve watched the exchange carefully but didn’t say anything.

**Blushing, she glanced down, but the smiled up at Stane. “Thank you. Thanks. I’d better get back there.” As she got up from the chair, she picked up the paper and unplugged the lock chip at the same time, clutching it tightly in her right hand.**

“She gambled there,” noted Bruce. “She didn’t know if it had finished copying before pulling it out. She could have corrupted the data she was collecting.”

“Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of a choice,” reasoned Sam. “She’s handling this well. Now if only she can get out of there…”

Sam stopped when **Stane asked Pepper if she had that day’s paper. She clarified it was and Obadiah asked her if she minded if he took it. She didn’t, and Stane further elaborated that he wanted it for the puzzle. He told her to take care as she left.**

**Walking away from the office, Pepper glanced into her right hand, still holding the lock chip securely within it.**

**Back in the office, Stane threw the paper on the desk and brushed his hand over the mouse. The screen saver vanished and it showed a dialogue box with the words, “DOWNLOAD COMPLETE’.**

**Obadiah leaped to his feet, his hands running over his bald head in frustration.**

“Shit. He knows.” Sam didn’t like where this was going. “He isn’t going to try anything is he?”

“If he can get to Pepper before she leaves the premises, he might…” said Clint. As much as he disliked Tony, he didn’t want anything to happen to Pepper. She didn’t deserve anything bad to happen to her. “And if there is no one else around if he catches her…” He didn’t want to consider the consequences. The repercussions for Pepper could be very bad if she was caught.

“I don’t want to point out the obvious,” said Bruce quietly, “but Pepper is still alive now. So, she’s fine.”

“But that doesn’t mean she escaped unscathed though, does it?” Steve pointed out.

Tony watched the discussion carefully.

Bruce frowned, then acceded Steve’s point.

**Pepper hastily walked down the steps and saw Phil Coulson sitting on a chair in reception. He reminded her that they had an appointment and asked if she had forgotten. She was so relieved at that moment, she tugged him along, telling him they were going to have it right now. He looked alarmed at how frazzled she looked but followed. Pepper kept looking over her shoulder. She told Coulson she was going to give him the meeting of his life at this office.**

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief she’d made it to safety before Stane had arrived.

**Behind them, Stane watched them from the staircase above.**

“Oh, he’s not happy,” reasoned Sam.

“Wait until you see what he does…” Tony eluded, not wanting to give anything away, but wanting them to know Stane was not going to let this go unmarked.

**A group of men in white coats hovered around the Arc Reactor, at a station that had been set up at the bottom of it. One of the men was on the phone but when he saw Stane approaching, he hastily ended the call. The other scientists fled as they saw Stane’s stormy expression.**

**The man explained that they had explored what Stane had asked them to do and they had learned that the technology didn’t exist.**

Tony pulled a face. “It did and it didn’t. Creating a miniature Arc Reactor took a lot of work on my part. But the theory behind the Arc Reactor was not published. No one could replicate it. Only I could because I knew what was needed to create a larger Arc Reactor in the first place.”

**Stane wasn’t fazed and pointed out that the technology needed was the Arc Reactor right in front of them. He put an arm around the man. “I’ve asked you to simply make it smaller.”**

Sam frowned. “He makes it sound like it is supposed to be easy.”

“It isn’t,” agreed Tony. “Something Stane could not understand.” And why Stane had decided to go after Tony. He had known he hadn’t had much time before the authorities would come calling.

**The man trembled. “Okay, sir, and that’s what we’re trying to do, but honestly, it’s impossible.”**

Steve observed the man’s reaction to Stane. “He’s terrified of him.” He clenched his fists. “A bully should not be in a position of power.”

Tony fought the urge to retort something back. Steve wouldn’t believe he was a bully if he tried.

**Stane turns away and back, shouting at the man. “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!” He forced the man back, his finger pointed at his chest.**

**“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not Tony Stark.”**

“Wasn’t he one of your top scientific designers?” asked Rhodey. “I remember you said a few complaints had been filed against Stane after the incident…”

“He was,” mused Tony. “His name was William Ginter Riva. He never returned to Stark Industries… He was a good scientist. He didn’t file a complaint about Stane though.” He frowned. “He was signed off sick from stress… and eventually quit. He did cite me as a reason to quit when he returned his leaving questionnaire… I didn’t have any direct involvement with him so I never understood what his problem was with me.”

“Guess you know now,” Bucky observed.

Tony felt guilt coil up in his chest. Even though he wasn’t directly at fault, Stane’s assumption that any scientist could replicate Tony’s work could have big ramifications for someone’s mental health.

“SHIELD detained all the scientists involved with Stane,” added Natasha quietly. “They had to be questioned.”

“Huh… I wasn’t aware of that…” Tony hadn’t been. But Phil Coulson had been involved that night.

“I could look up his file for you when we get back?” suggested Natasha. “It’s not too late to offer support, even if it has been years since he left your company.”

Tony nodded. “Please do.” He hated being blamed for something that wasn’t his fault. If Wanda could potentially see past it, surely other disgruntled employees on Stane’s team could as well, if given the right support?

**Tony’s cell phone was ringing as he walked into the lounge. He found it underneath a cushion, picked it up, and flipped the cover open to see it was Pepper calling.**

**“Tony?”**

**Her voice came through at the same moment a high-pitched buzzing whine sounded in the room as a small device appeared at the side of his head.**

They recognised the sound from before.

“NO!” Steve was the first to react.

Sam looked stunned. “No… No…!”

Bucky’s face was pale.

“He came to you?” Bruce whispered, shock adorning his face.

For they all knew who was holding the small device at the side of Tony’s head.

**Tony stilled, unable to move, completely paralysed. Stane appeared, removing the phone from Tony’s hand, ending the call before easing Tony’s head onto the back of the couch.**

Rhodey growled underneath his breath. “Not letting Tony answer was a big mistake. It made Pepper suspicious. She called me.”

**“Breathe…. Easy, easy…”**

**Tony recognised the device in Stane’s hand as he held it up to his eyes.**

“If Tony had answered, Pepper would have warned him about Stane,” reasoned Steve.

Rhodey shook his head. “She wouldn’t be suspicious if he’d answered her before being paralysed. Stane could have still got the drop on him after the call. Pepper wouldn’t have had any reason to contact me, as she would assume he’d be careful.”

“Which means he wanted to be caught?” Wanda said though she frowned. “Why would he want to be caught if he wanted to run _Stark Industries_?”

“It was over for him the moment Pepper downloaded all those files from the server,” explained Sam. “He knew he wouldn’t be able to run the company. He wouldn’t be able to avoid the inevitable jail sentence either. If all your plans are in ruin, may as well take out the guy responsible.”

**“You remember this one, right? It’s a shame the government didn’t approve of it. There are so many applications for causing short-term paralysis.” Stane moved in front of Tony, moving his head to face him. “Ah, Tony…” He removed the protectors from his ears. “When I ordered the hit on you…”**

Tony folded his arms across his chest. “And there is the proof he was responsible for everything. He tried to have me killed. I didn’t know until he said those words. It was…” He wanted to describe the feeling he felt at how deep Obadiah’s betrayal had stung but he couldn’t find the words. “He’d seen me grow up… Been a big part of my life… And, yet he tried to have me killed.” He lowered his chin onto his chest, breathing slowly. “I can’t trust anyone.”

“You can trust us, Tony,” said Steve.

“No, I can’t. Not after Siberia. That ship has long sailed, Steve,” admitted Tony. “The only person I can trust is myself. And Pepper, and Happy and Rhodey. They have my back. You don’t.”

Steve didn’t have the heart to argue with Tony’s assessment of the situation. No matter how much Steve may deny it, he didn’t really have Tony’s back. And he did regret the loss of trust between them.

**Tony’s eyes widened ever so slightly, his face white and veiny. There was a bit of blood dribbling out of his ear.**

**Stane was removing a device from his suitcase. “…I was worried I was killing the golden goose.” He put his fingers into the device, a little circular metal thing, and planted it on top of Tony’s chest, over the Arc Reactor. Wisps of smoke appeared around the edges as it burned through the shirt. “But, you see, it was just…”**

“Please tell me he isn’t doing what I think he is?” yelled Sam, leaping from his seat and pointing at the screen. “Don’t you dare take that from him!”

Steve paled. _Oh god…_ He could see himself in his minds-eye, crushing the Arc Reactor in the suit with his shield. He exchanged a glanced with Bucky.

Even Clint was angered by what was about to happen, which surprised Tony when he saw the man’s hands itching. Perhaps the revelation he’d tried to help Clint’s family had forced bird-brain to rethink his dislike of his former team-mate.

Wanda’s fingers twitched.

Thor was on his feet, his fingers crackling with little wisps of lightning. “I’ll kill him!” he hissed.

“You don’t need to,” answered Tony.

“He deserves to die a thousand times for what’s done to you!” Thor’s anger was heartening, and it showed how much he cared about Tony.

Though the Inventor couldn’t help but muse on the fact Thor had strangled him. He wondered how the god would react to that, or if he even remembered he’d done it.

**Tony gasped as the device moved down, choking.**

**“…fate that you survived that.” Stane twisted the device, extracting the Arc Reactor from Tony’s chest. He held it up to Tony’s eye line. “You had one last golden egg to give.” He smiled evilly, leaning over Tony with the Arc Reactor still attached, wires showing. “Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?”**

Wanda snarled. “Of course, an idea belongs to him! He doesn’t have to share all his ideas with the world!”

Surprised by her reaction, Tony smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks,” he whispered.

**Stane studied him further. “Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?”**

Steve’s teeth crunched together. “Despite his faults, Tony isn’t as selfish as you believe him to be!”

“Why would he share an idea with the world that is keeping him alive?” stated Sam. “Anyone could find a weakness if he did, putting Stark in danger!”

Finally, someone understood his reasons for not wanting to share the Arc Reactor technology with the world. 

**Stane pulled and yanked the Arc Reactor free from the wiring.**

“Fucking bastard!” Steve cursed, not bothering to apologise for his words.

Tony thought it was ironic considering what Steve had done to the Arc Reactor himself.

“I am so glad he’s dead, otherwise I think we all would be going to kill him,” said Rhodey.

There was mutual agreement around the room.

“Wait… where’s JARVIS?” Wanda’s voice was filled with concern. “Surely he’d raise the alarm?”

Tony sighed. “As much as it is hard to believe, Stane switched JARVIS off without me knowing.”

“How did he manage it?” Bruce couldn’t believe it. “You wouldn’t have given him access to your systems…”

“I didn’t,” answered Tony.

“It was quite clever what Mr. Stane did,” explained Vision. “He used the same method Mr. Stark used on him, only he installed a virus into JARVIS’s mainframe, temporarily switching the A.I off until Mr. Stark could reboot the system.”

Everyone knew Vision was referring to the method Pepper had used to download the data from Tony’s office. Stane had simply used his own lock-chip, inserted it into a port in Tony’s house which had instantly switched off Tony’s A.I and his security system, enabling Stane to get the jump on the Inventor.

**Tony gasps as his foe inspected the Reactor, his face marvelling in its beauty. “Oh, it’s beautiful. Oh, Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony.” Stane sat next to Tony. “Ah, what a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands.”**

Steve paled, recognising the familiar words. _I said something similar about the Accords and myself…_

“You alright?” Bucky had noticed Steve’s distracted manner.

Steve swallowed, not wanting anyone to know how those simple words had hit him. “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.”

Bucky didn’t seem so sure but he relented on further questioning Steve.

**Stane laughed and grabbed his suitcase. “I wish you could see my prototype.” He placed the stolen Reactor in the case. “It’s not as… Well, not as conservative as yours.”**

**Tony’s throat twitches.**

**“Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived.”**

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Both Steve and Bruce yelled at the same time.

**Stane closed the case and walked away, leaving Tony to die on the sofa.**

“Shit,” whispered Sam. “He left you there to die.”

Bucky shifted in his seat. “How long did you have? The Arc Reactor is gone… Nothing is holding back the shards of metal.”

“The pieces were moving towards my heart,” answered Tony. “I could feel them. It was getting harder to breathe with each passing minute. I didn’t have long. If the paralysis wore off, I’d be able to move again, but the shards would move faster with each physical activity.”

“You wouldn’t have had any Arc Reactor spares,” reasoned Steve, thinking carefully. “I know you keep them now in case of emergencies…”

They’d clearly forgotten the spare Arc Reactor Pepper had given to him as a present. The worry on each of their faces made Tony feel that they did care. That they still considered him a team member, though it wasn’t something he could readily believe himself.

“Wait… Doesn’t he-” Natasha stopped talking at Tony’s nod as she remembered the spare Arc Reactor. “Oh.”

“How did you survive?” Clint looked incredulous. “He took the one thing you needed!”

“Concerned for me?” quipped Tony, not wanting to hold back any longer at the Archer.

Clint couldn’t hold Tony’s gaze and dipped his head, his words barely perceptible. “You’re still a part of this team.”

Clint’s admission surprised him but it showed even the most heartless of people could potentially see the error of their ways.

**As he drove through the streets of Malibu, Rhodey was on the phone to Pepper, surprised by what she was telling him. He couldn’t believe Obadiah had paid to have Tony killed. He asked where Tony was now.**

Rhodey scratched the back of his neck. “I knew Obadiah well. I couldn’t grasp the idea he’d tried to have Tony killed. It was a foreign idea to me.” A part of him hadn’t believed it.

**They saw Pepper walking to a car with Coulson and a group of agents. Pepper told Rhodey she didn’t know where Tony was as he wasn’t answering his phone. She wanted him to go over there and make sure everything was okay. As she ended the call, she told Coulson she knew a shortcut back to the Stark Industries facilities.**

**Across town, Rhodey turned his truck around and sped off to Tony’s mansion.**

“Telling you now, I broke a ton of speeding laws just to get to Tony’s mansion,” said Rhodey. “Nearly lost my license until Tony stepped in.” He cast his gaze over the group. “No one was injured or hurt. I knew from Pepper’s panicked voice she wanted me to get there quickly.”

“You’re very good at circumventing the law, aren’t you?” Sam raised an eyebrow at Tony.

Tony shrugged. “When you have a lot of contacts, it pays to use them. And these were exceptional circumstances. I’m not going to apologise for that.”

No one could blame him, for they would have done the same, just as they had done with trying to work around the Accords because they had felt it was the right thing to do. 

**Clinging to life, Tony flung himself into the elevator. He slid down the wall of the elevator as it took him down to his workshop.**

“How the hell are you moving?” burst out Clint, his eyes wide. “What the hell, man?”

“Tony…” Steve whispered. He didn’t like the paleness of Tony’s skin, nor the drench of sweat as he exerted himself to get down to his lab. “Why are you…”

“I’m trying to help myself,” answered Tony quietly. 

**He stumbled out, his shirt drenched with sweat, and his face pale. His eyes saw the Arc Reactor Pepper had stored in the glass box on his desk and had given to him as a gift.**

The others realised as soon as they saw the glass box.

“It still worked?” Sam asked.

Tony inclined his head. “It did. I never stopped it from working when I removed it.”

“Pepper is a noble woman!” Thor decreed. “She saved your life!”

A slight smile tugged at Tony’s lips. “She’s been saving my life for years.” He sighed, letting his shoulders droop. “I was lucky she decided to keep the Arc Reactor and present it to me as a present.”

“You are so nostalgic,” grinned Natasha.

“I used to think I wasn’t… but Pepper knew me best. That’s why we work well together. We complement each other in ways other people do not always see or recognise.” A soft expression crossed his face. “One way or another… she’s it for me. No one else can ever compare to her.”

“You really do love her, don’t you?” Wanda said, lowering her head.

“I do…”

“I’m glad you’ve got someone like Pepper, Tony,” said Steve. “I really am.”

The sides of Tony’s lips twitched in gratitude. 

**Tony fell to the floor, attempting to pull himself along the floor, struggling to breathe. He moved past a car, pushing obstacles out of his way, before reaching his desk, hoisting himself up with a plastic bin, reaching for the Arc Reactor…**

**He collapsed, and rolled onto his back, panting for breath.**

**From above there was a familiar whine, and down came a robotic arm with the Arc Reactor in its claw. Tony reached up for it and looked at DUM-E.**

“I knew there was a reason you never donated him to city college,” joked Rhodey, slapping Tony on the back.

Tony winced. “When it comes to it, my bots pulled through for me.”

**“Good boy,” he whispered. He rolled over and smashed the Arc Reactor casing.**

Steve breathed out in relief. “Phew.” Though he knew Tony had survived, he never wanted to see any of his teammates die. If someone had to die, Steve would always be the first one.

Bruce laughed, letting out the tension which had built up in his chest. “You, Tony, were very lucky there that DUM-E recognised you needed help.”

“He may not have had the best programming, but DUM-E was able to recognise when I genuinely needed help, even though he may not have always performed his best.”

“Still didn’t stop you threatening him in later years though,” pointed out Rhodey.

Tony smirked. “I didn’t _change_ that much.”

**Stane stood in front of his newly built suit holding the miniature Arc Reactor. He placed it in the middle of the chest piece, connecting it to the centre socket, pushing it inside and the suit powered up. He gazed up at the suit and smiled.**

Sam shook his head. “Not good…”

**Rhodey burst into Tony’s lounge, calling for his friend. He ran down the steps into the workshop and saw Tony limp on the floor.**

“When I saw you on the floor, I nearly had a heart attack,” explained Rhodey. “I thought you were dead.”

“Installing the Arc Reactor took a lot out of me,” affirmed Tony. “It was pulling the shards of metal back into place as they’d dug in deeper. It hurt. I was still trying to regain my breath.”

Wanda looked sympathetic at Tony.

**He rolled his friend over, asking if he was okay.**

**Tony grabs Rhodey. “Where’s Pepper?” he gasped.**

**“She’s fine. She’s with five Agents. They’re about to arrest Obadiah.”**

**The Arc Reactor shined in Tony’s chest, the colour on his face already starting to return to normal. He pushed himself to his feet as he said: “That’s not gonna be enough.”**

“You knew the capability of the suit,” reasoned Sam. “Agents alone were not going to be enough to stop him.”

“No,” answered Tony. “It never would be. Stane could kill them in an instant. At this point, he was out to cause as much trouble as possible, even if he knew it was likely to be the end of the road for him. I had to be the one to stop him.”

**A silver car followed by a line of black cars pulled up into the No Parking Zone of Stark Industries Factory. Pepper and Coulson climbed out of the first car, followed by Agents from the other cars. Pepper used her access card and they moved inside into the Arc Reactor building.**

**They saw Section 16 through a door at the far end. Only Authorised Technologists were allowed entry. Pepper tried to use her card twice but it didn’t work. Obadiah had locked her out.**

“Taking no chances,” Clint said, his voice dark. “Not going to stop SHIELD agents though.”

“Why didn’t SHIELD send a bigger team?” Bruce questioned. “There are not many agents there.”

“I think they reasoned if Tony had his own suit, he’d be along at some point to help out,” explained Natasha, “however they may have thought they’d reach Stane before his suit was completed. If they could arrest him before that…” She spread her hands out, palms up. “Easy to capture someone when they’re not in a suit.”

“But when they’re in them, it makes them ten times more invincible to capture,” finished Clint.

**Coulson held out a small device. Pepper wanted to know what it was, theorising whether it would pick the lock before Coulson placed it on the door handle. He advised her to take a few steps back and the Agents turned away as Pepper runs slightly further away and covered her ears. Coulson just folded his arms.**

**The little device beeps and then explodes, unlocking the door.**

“If he’s not in the suit yet, that’ll warn him to get into it,” winced Bucky.

**Obadiah looks up, turns around, and hopped across an aisle to reach the suit.**

Bucky sighed. He’d hoped he would have been wrong.

“I hope you get there quickly, Tony,” said Steve.

“Haven’t left the house yet,” pointed out Tony, as the next scene showed **Tony back at his workshop where the Iron Man suit was being put on as Rhodey watched on in wonder.**

**“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”**

“And I wanted my own,” grinned Rhodey. “Took me a while to get one though.”

“The Mark II was always there for you,” revealed Tony. “I never intended for you to not have a suit.”

**“Not bad, huh? Let’s do it.” Tony stepped forward and blasted one of his cars out of the way. He turned to face Rhodey.**

“For someone who adored their cars, you just blasted it out the way.” Clint shook his head, surprised at how easy it was for Tony to wreck one of his prized cars in his collection.

“There are some things more important than cars,” said Tony. “I recognised the risks. I couldn’t be fussy at this point over immaterial objects.”

**“You need me to do anything else?”**

**Tony’s helmet fell down. “Keep the skies clear.” He engaged his thrusters and flew out of the hole in the roof leaving Rhodey behind, who looked over at the Silver Mark II suit.**

**“Next time, baby,” he said, as he swung himself into one of Tony’s cars and drove away.**

“I wonder if the next movie will show that?” wondered Bucky.

“If it deals with Ivan Vanko, it probably will,” sighed Tony. “It was when Rhodey got the suit.”

**Coulson stepped into the darkness of Sector 16. Pistols were drawn and they moved inside very quietly. Pepper looked around. They fanned out, looking for any sign of Stane.**

**They rounded a bend and found the reconstituted Mark I.**

“He based his design on your first suit,” Steve mused.

“It wasn’t a perfect design. It got the job done that I wanted it to,” said Tony. “And, his was bigger.”

**Coulson commented that Pepper had been right as Stane had been building a suit.**

**“I thought it would be bigger,” said Pepper.**

**A noise echoed in the background. Sparking wires hung from the ceiling.**

**One of the Agents found a computer with the design of the Iron Monger suit on it.**

**Chains dangling caught Pepper’s attention she moved towards them.**

“Pepper… Don’t go closer…” worried Sam.

**There was a clang and two white lights appeared and started to rise up, towering over her and targeting her.**

“Shit!” Bucky shouted.

“It’s Stane,” swallowed Clint. “In a very big suit.”

Thor’s fingers crackled with energy. “LEAVE HER ALONE!”

Tony’s lips twitched. He’d not seen what had happened before he’d arrived, and it angered him even more now how Stane had callously targeted her. He was glad the man was dead. He just wished he had been the one to push the button instead of Pepper. 

**Pepper screamed and ran as the Suit followed her. Bullets ricocheted against it. It was tall, sweeping aside anyone in its path. She ran through the sector, the suit charging after her, reaching out an enormous metal claw hand, barely missing her.**

“Tony…. Please get there!” Sam yelled.

“Trying!” retorted Tony.

**Tony flew through the sky. He asked JARVIS on how the Mark I chest piece would hold up. JARVIS commented the suit was at 48% power and was falling. The chest piece had never been designed for sustained flight. Tony wanted to be kept posted on power levels as he sped with all haste towards Stark Industries.**

Steve paled. “The Arc Reactor couldn’t support the suit?”

“No. It was never designed for it. I was running on fumes and failing energy. It was my only option,” revealed Tony. “I had to take risks. I was willing to put my life on the line to stop Stane, something a lot of you fail to recognise.”

Steve exchanged glances with the others, feeling guilty over how much he may have misjudged Tony ever since he had met him. 

**As Pepper ran out of the Arc Reactor building, her phone rang.**

**“Pepper?”**

**“Tony! Tony, are you okay?”**

“She’s just been attacked by a giant suit and she’s asking you if you are okay?” Bruce shook his head in wonder. “It makes sense…”

“Remember, the last time Pepper tried to speak to Tony, he answered but he didn’t speak,” remembered Natasha. “She’d be relieved to hear his voice.”

**“I’m fine. How are…”**

**Pepper spoke over him. “Obadiah, he’s gone insane!”**

“Yeah, I think Tony knows that,” reasoned Steve.

**“I know. Listen, you’d better get out of there.”**

**“He built a suit,” she told him.**

**He wanted her to leave the area.**

“She’s not going to leave, is she?” swallowed Sam. “She needs to leave. Stane is after her. The longer she stays, the more trouble she’ll be in.”

**But it was too late as the ground rumbled beneath her feet, cracking the pavement and opening up a hole. The gigantic Iron Monger rose up, towering over Pepper. “Where do you think you’re going?”**

**Pepper screamed.**

Thor roared again, leaping from his seat, but Bruce pulled him back.

“You cannot do anything, Thor!”

The God’s arms crackled with lightning. “I know.”

“We know Pepper survives!” reported Bruce. “She’s fine!”

Thor sighed and sat down, but his eyes remained fixed on the screen.

**“Your services are no longer required.” Stane pointed a machine gun at her. It started to whirl.**

**Pepper could not move.**

“Run, Pepper…” whispered Sam.

“Sometimes when you are faced with death, you become too scared to move,” whispered Wanda. “I remember it well…”

“Wanda…” Tony started. He knew what she was referring to. The days under the rubble, trapped with a fake Stark missile.

She shook her head at him. “It’s not your fault. When you’re faced with death, even at a young age, it can terrify you. Stop you from moving and saving yourself. I’m not sure if Pietro and I could have done anything to get out without help… I can see why Pepper wouldn’t move. The terror simply stops you.”

Clint rubbed her on the back in sympathy.

**And then Tony was yelling Stane’s name from above and he shot down as Stane looked up as Iron Man collided with the Iron Monger, knocking them back through the fence and out into a busy main road.**

Everyone winced.

“Did anyone die?” asked Steve.

“Luckily, there were no casualties reported,” confirmed Rhodey. “Just a few people were traumatised, and a few injuries, but none that were life-threatening.”

**Stane crashed through a lorry, rolling into oncoming traffic, cars twisting and swerving everywhere.**

**Cars crashed as they fought to avoid the monstrosity in the middle of the road. A minivan with a woman and her children inside it came to a screeching halt right in front of the Iron Monger.**

**Stane lifted the car up, intending to throw it at Tony, as the family screamed from inside the car.**

“What the hell!” Sam shouted, “How can he be so callous?”

“He’s a warmonger,” stated Tony. “He didn’t care. He didn’t care who he put in danger as long as it got him profit.”

“And he was prepared to do anything to kill Tony.” Rhodey pointed out. “Even if it meant killing innocents.”

**Tony tried to stand.**

**Stane yelled that he loved this suit and Tony ordered him to put the family down.**

**“Collateral damage, Tony.” Stane didn’t care as he stamped toward Tony.**

Steve growled underneath his breath. “Fucking bastard!” He didn’t care that he had sworn. Stane deserved his anger. “I know you wouldn’t put people intentionally in danger, Tony. Stane is on a whole other level to you.”

**“Divert power to chest RT,” ordered Tony. A large white blast erupts from the centre of Tony’s chest piece. Stane flew back into the bonnet of another car.**

“Isn’t it going to drain the Arc Reactor by using it?” queried Sam.

“It did,” answered Vision. “The Arc Reactor was already failing. Each move Mr. Stark made, reduced the power even more. It couldn’t maintain the suit.”

**Tony caught the minivan, struggling to get it back down to the ground safely as the mother and children screamed.**

“One good thing with the suit, is that it enables me to lift a lot of heavy objects,” explained Tony. “Otherwise that would have crushed me and killed me.”

**JARVIS informed him power had reduced to 19%.**

“Come on…” whispered Bruce. “You’ve got this.”

**He forced himself down onto one knee as the car was too heavy for him to hold up.**

“Unfortunately, with the suit failing it was getting harder to hold heavy objects.” Tony sighed. “I did the best I could in a bad situation.” 

**The mother put her foot on the accelerator, and the minivan came down with a thud. The minivan took off down the road as Tony clung to the bonnet. She accelerated faster and Tony fell back, scratching the bonnet of the car. He fell under the car, getting dragged along before he managed to lift the back wheels to slid himself out from underneath it and let go as the mother sped off down the road.**

Everyone winced.

“Ouch,” cringed Steve and Sam.

“I’m glad you saved them,” whispered Wanda.

“I try my best,” answered Tony, smiling gently.

**The Iron Monger leaps and jumps for Tony, grabbing a passing motorcycle and hits Tony with it, sending him into another car and onto the ground. Around them people were fleeing.**

**Stane grabbed Tony. “For thirty years, I’ve been holding you up!” He listed Tony and threw him on the ground, stamping onto Tony’s chest. “I built this company from nothing!”**

Tony glared at the screen. “Actually, you didn’t. My father was the driving factor. You were just a business partner.”

**Tony desperately tried to escape but Stane grabbed him again.**

**“Nothing is going to stand in my way!”**

Sam looked at the screen incredulously. “Did he really think he’d be able to go back to running the company after this? SHIELD knew what his role was!”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t think he cared. I did wonder if he had connections to HYDRA. I was never able to prove if he was or not. If he had connections, they would have cleared his name.”

“Obadiah Stane wasn’t HYDRA, but he did do business with them,” said Natasha. “He was supported by them but he was not a full member of the organisation. His name was never on any of the records which got leaked when we dumped all the files.”

“They would have supported him if he’d tried to take over the company if he’d succeeded to kill you here,” said Clint. “They’d have quietly killed the Agents involved and Pepper too to avoid the truth getting out.”

“They could have done it anyway, even with Stane’s death…” said Natasha.

“What stopped them?” Sam wanted to know.

“I was more useful to them alive,” sighed Tony. “SHIELD got me working for them on the technical side a while later. Everything I did ended up being to HYDRA’s advantage.”

“You didn’t know,” said Steve cautiously. “None of us knew.”

“I know. Doesn’t stop me feeling guilty though does it?” added Tony. 

**He threw Tony into a bus, stomps away from him, turns back, and brings out a short-range missile. “Least of all you!” He tracked and fires, exploding the bus into flames.**

**The force of the explosion sent Tony spiralling into the air, and as he fell, his flight repulsors came to life, keeping him stable in the air.**

“Neat trick!” grinned Bucky. “Make him look like you’re going to hit the ground but spring a surprise on him!”

“I realised I had to get him off the ground. And, if he’d based his design on my first one, it would have a lot of the same flaws, ones which I had fixed for the armour I was wearing,” revealed Tony.

“You could turn his suit against him!” Sam grinned. “Smart plan!”

“I am a genius, Wilson,” retorted Tony.

**“Impressive! You’ve upgraded your armour! I’ve made some upgrades of my own!” Stane launched himself into air, filling the air with smoke as the rocket launchers in his feet fired.**

“His thruster capacity needs improving. He’s too slow-moving off the ground,” noted Bruce.

**“Sir, it appears that his suit can fly.”**

Clint snorted. “Stating the obvious yet again.”

Vision turned his head to the archer. “It was JARVIS’ duty to state the obvious. Mr. Stark had shown the capacity to not recognise the obvious in the past.”

Tony couldn’t argue with the Vision’s assessment of himself. He had been very narrow-minded before Afghanistan.

**Tony noted that the suit could fly and wanted to be taken to maximum altitude. JARVIS tried to tell him the odds, but Tony reminded him he knew the maths, he just wanted JARVIS to do it.**

**Tony flew off, higher into the sky as Pepper watched from the ground, as Stane pursued him.**

“She was very worried about you,” cautioned Rhodey. “Pepper told me. When you went flying up into the air with Stane pursing you.”

“I know.” Tony sighed. “I put her through so much shit, it continuously surprises me she stays.”

“She loves you,” said Rhodey. “She won’t ever leave you.”

“She nearly did,” Tony reasoned.

“But she came back,” answered Rhodey.

“My one fear is that one day I’ll leave her.” Tony lowered his voice, so the others could not hear. “I’ll leave her a widow, and she’ll be young… and if we have a child… I’ll leave her with them to raise by herself. I can’t do that to her.”

Rhodey steeled his face, rubbing Tony on the shoulder. “Listen to me, Tony. If I can help it, I’ll take your place. I’m not going to let you die, not if I can do anything to stop it. If I can’t stop you from dying… I’ll do my best to protect your family until the day I die. That’s a promise.”

A slight smile crossed Tony’s face. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

“But you’re not dying on my watch, Tones. I’m not letting that happen. Ever.”

The gut feeling in Tony’s stomach was telling him Rhodey was wrong and that an early grave awaited him, but he hoped he was wrong.

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> When Tony says to Wanda he thinks she knows, he is referring to the vision he saw in AOU. I believe Wanda probably had a sense or saw what Tony did in that vision, which is why she let him take the Sceptre instead of killing him. Age of Ultron, when we get to it, is going to be very eye-opening for Wanda. 
> 
> I also believe Team Cap didn't fully read the Accords before Steve left to go to Peggy's funeral. Steve was seen flicking through them but he disagreed with the idea of them from the outset, so the idea of any of Team Cap actually sitting down and reading them properly seems to have unlikely to have happened. 
> 
> I subscribe to the idea that Tony knew Peggy growing up. She was a big part of SHIELD and Howard Stark's life. I see no reason to believe Tony wouldn't know her very well. I also think Steve was so lost in grief over Peggy, he probably didn't really listen to the funeral service. Tony's reasoning for not attending the funeral I think is an interesting take. He would have been there, if not for the Accords. 
> 
> Pepper's family... the MCU doesn't make this too clear. In IM1 she says Tony is all she has, yet in Avengers, Tony makes a joke about asking her mum if Pepper can buck over, and then there is Pepper's Uncle Morgan. Tony has clearly met her eccentric Uncle. This makes me think that Pepper isn't too close to her family which is why in IM1 she considers Tony as all she has. I think its reasonable to assume that Pepper's relatives are still alive - she just does not have much of a relationship with them, however, maybe after getting together with Tony, she starts to repair the family bridges, if there is any, which is why I decided to address this issue here. 
> 
> William Ginter Riva - he was Beck's right-hand man in Far From Home. I think Riva's hatred of Tony was odd since it was more Stane at fault, but somehow Tony got the blame? I wanted to address that here. 
> 
> Steve recognises "the right hands" as something he believes. It's struck a chord with him. This will be followed up in later stories in this series. 
> 
> The end of this chapter... Tony has a feeling he will end up seeing his own death whilst watching these movies. He hopes he is wrong. 
> 
> The next chapter will be posted next Sunday and will be the last chapter in this story. Iron Man 2 will begin being posted September time as I need to write out the movie-script first. 
> 
> Until next Sunday, 
> 
> the-writer1988


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Stane continue their confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Welcome to the final chapter of Part 1 of Understanding the Real Hero! Please read the notes at the bottom as I will be giving details on the sequel. :)

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man**

**Ten**

**Back at the airbase, both Suits had been picked up on Radar. They were about to scramble the jets when Rhodey stopped them, informing them it was just a training exercise.**

“They believed you?” Clint asked him incredulously.

“I was senior to them,” the Colonel pointed out.

“Didn’t stop the Major from disobeying you earlier with intending on shooting Stark out the sky,” reasoned Sam.

“It was a complicated situation as you saw,” agreed Rhodey. “The Major wasn’t disciplined for not obeying a direct order. Technically, rules state I should have done, but I understood the risks and why he did disobey me. Especially because at the time I didn’t tell him it was my best friend inside the suit.”

**Tony moved higher into the sky. Stane increased his thrust, climbing faster in an effort to reach Tony.**

**JARVIS told him the power percentage was rapidly decreasing. The Arc Reactor was flickering as the power continued to drain.**

“Tony…” Steve was worried.

“I knew what I was doing,” Tony reassured him. “My life didn’t matter when it came to stopping Stane. He was too much of a threat for me to worry about my own.”

Steve lowered his head. _I really underestimated Tony. He’s proven me wrong before._ Tony had nearly sacrificed his life in New York, he hadn’t hesitated, but he still vilified him for all his other choices. _I just refuse to believe it because he’s not like me. I wouldn’t do what he does… Seeing this, maybe I can understand now._

**Tony yelled for his A.I to just leave it on his screen and to stop telling him.**

Tony rubbed his forehead. “I don’t think I could have coped much longer with JARVIS telling me how much power I had left.”

**The Iron Monger reached out and grabbed Tony’s foot, yanking him down so that Tony’s helmet was level with his. He clutched Tony by the throat.**

“NO!” They yelled at the screen.

Wanda’s face was as white as a sheet.

Bruce stopped Thor from leaping up again.

**“You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!” He brought Tony closer to him.**

**“Yeah?” Tony smirked. “How’d you solve the icing problem?”**

“Knew it,” smirked Sam. “He wouldn’t have accounted for that specific problem. You take him up high enough…”

“He loses power,” smiled Wanda. “Brilliant!”

“Still didn’t stop him,” shrugged Tony. “His suit was more durable than mine was. More likely to survive a fall of that magnitude than I was when I originally tested it.”

**“Icing problem?” Inside Stane’s helmet, it started to flash red and then went dark as the suit lost power.**

**“Might want to look into it.” Tony raised his right hand and hit Stane on the head, breaking a bit of the sheath of ice off as the Iron Monger began to fall. Stane tumbled through the air.**

“Was breaking the ice a good idea?” Bruce wondered. “Wouldn’t it have started the defrosting of the suit?”

“The reason I bought him up high enough to freeze his suit was to try to disrupt his systems as much as possible and damage it in the fall, even if it didn’t stop him entirely. I had hoped it might stop him for good but I needed time to get out of my suit. It was far too damaged for me to continue using. I needed that distraction,” explained Tony.

Rhodey scrutinised him. “Were you planning on calling in the Air Force?”

“I was, yeah. Since my suit was badly damaged, the Air Force was the next best thing. Or, blow up the Arc Reactor, which was the last resort,” said Tony.

“But you didn’t call us in,” noted Rhodey, frowning slightly.

Tony shook his head. “No. Didn’t get a chance to. As you’ll see.” 

**“Two percent,” JARVIS informed Tony.**

**His own suit was starting to lose power and his thrusters were trying to stabilise.**

**“We are now running on emergency backup power.”**

“Wouldn’t it affect the running of the Arc Reactor in your chest?” Natasha was concerned.

“The Arc Reactor’s primary function was to keep me alive. It would be the last thing it would stop powering.”

**“Whoa.” The power kept going off and on again as Tony fell through the air, stabilising himself for a few seconds before he lost it again. He landed on the top of the Arc Reactor building, falling onto his knees.**

**Tony climbed to his feet. “Potts.”**

**“Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?” Pepper was frantic with worry.**

“Why hasn’t she left yet? She should be as far away from there as possible!” Clint shook his head. “She’s as stubborn as you, Stark.”

“Be glad she didn’t leave,” hinted Tony. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if Pepper had left the premises. His plan had only worked because Pepper had been able to overload the Reactor whilst he kept Stane busy. Stane could have easily stopped him if he’d attempted it himself.

**“I’m almost out of power,” admitted Tony. “I’ve got to get out of this thing. I’ll be right there.” He threw his left-hand suit piece away and opened up the helmet only for Stane to land behind him.**

**“Nice try!”**

“Shit!” Sam cringed. “He recovered quickly!”

“Did he even hit the ground?” asked Wanda.

Tony shook his head. “Unfortunately, not. He recovered his systems as he fell and then waited until I showed myself.”

Bruce turned to face Rhodey. “Did your radars pick anything up?”

“Yeah, we did. We had both Tony and Stane on our radar. Stane’s sudden fall did stop amongst the cloud cover but quite far down,” remembered Rhodey. “But because I’d told the station command it was a training exercise; I couldn’t do anything.” Rhodey wished he’d been able to do something for Tony. “All I could do was keep the skies clear as much as possible, including rerouting commercial flights in the area.”

“You did your best,” complimented Tony, smiling lightly at his friend.

**Tony whirled.**

**Stane tried to punch Tony, but he missed as Tony ducked, his faceplate sliding back into place. He held up his left hand to blast Stane with a repulsor shot but he realised he had thrown that piece away. Stane dealt him a blow that sent him sprawling, but Tony managed to stop himself from going over the edge.**

**Landing on his feet and knees, he jumped up, and leaped for Obadiah, punching him with his Gauntleted right hand.**

“Bet you wish you hadn’t taken off the left Gauntlet,” mused Sam.

“It would have come in useful if I hadn’t been so hasty,” admitted Tony. “I really should have checked the skies and my surroundings before removing _anything_. I may not have been caught off guard if I’d had.” Still, he couldn’t fault the fact Stane had been dealt with though he’d had to resort to other means.

**But Stane caught him by the arm and then grabbed him around the middle of the Suit with both of his hands. Stane began to squeeze, crushing Tony.**

Sam swallowed. “I know you survive this, Stark, but I can’t help worry for you.”

Tony recognised Sam wasn’t the only one to re-evaluate how to he saw him as a person.

**Tony asked JARVIS for the status of a weapon however everything was offline. Desperately he called for flares and they activated, bouncing off both suits and momentarily blinding Stane enough he had to release Tony from his crushing grip.**

“Correct me if I’m wrong, if every weapon was offline, surely flares would count as a weapon?” queried Bucky. “Why were they not offline?”

“Technically they were not classed as a weapon so JARVIS could still activate them. If JARVIS had lost connection to the suit entirely, I could still activate them with voice or hand control,” answered Tony. “It was a back-up I put in place in the event of losing power and needing a distraction. Thankfully, JARVIS was still able to activate them for me there, despite the lack of power to the suit.”

**Tony managed to hide from Stane and whispered to Pepper over the phone.**

**“Potts?”**

**“Tony!” She was pleased to hear his voice.**

**“This isn’t working. We’re going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof.”**

“It wasn’t my first choice to blow the Reactor.” Tony felt the need to point it out to the others. It had been risky taking that action but it remained the only option left when he was unable to fight back anymore against Stane.

**“Well, how are you going to do that?”**

**“You’re going to do it,” he instructed her. “Go to the central console and open all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I’ll let you know. You’re going to hit the Master Bypass button, and it’s going to fry everything up here.”**

“The suit wouldn’t protect him?” asked Wanda. “Isn’t it durable enough to resist?”

Tony shook his head. “No. The electronic impulses would be attracted to the suit and effectively electrocute him.”

“Frying him instantly,” decreed Bruce. “He would be removed as a threat in an instant.”

“Exactly.” Tony was glad they understood what he was trying to do to stop Stane. “I would have preferred to take him alive if it was possible. He had a lot to answer for in a court of law. Circumstances meant it wasn’t completely possible.”

“It was either kill or be killed,” observed Natasha. She had read the report Coulson had filed about the incident in preparation for her role at Stark Industries. They had intended to arrest Obadiah but events had spiralled out of control which necessitated taking him out permanently.

**Stane was still searching for Tony as Pepper tentatively stepped over the shattered glass around the Arc Reactor. “Okay. I’m going now.”**

**Tony explained he would give her time but she had to wait until he had cleared the roof.**

**Stane looked where Tony had been hiding moments before.**

**Pepper reached the central console and started to pull down all the levers and press all the buttons.**

“How did she know which buttons opened the circuits?” queried Bruce. The scientist in him wanted to know why the overload had worked that way.

Tony wisely answered. “Too much power at once would overload the Arc Reactor. To keep the Reactor stable we had to keep switches in particular places. Moving everything out in the opposite direction doesn’t turn it off. It overloads everything.”

“How do you switch the Arc Reactor off?” asked Steve.

Tony threw him a glare. “You seem to be quite good at shutting off Arc Reactors, Rogers, why don’t you tell me?”

Steve flinched at the hostile tone in Tony’s voice. He couldn’t blame him. He had smashed the shield into Tony’s chest. “You know why –”

“Do not tell me I should understand what you did to me!” yelled Tony, the resentment hanging in the air.

Everyone’s heads turned towards Steve.

“Wait…” Sam swallowed. “You destroyed the Arc Reactor? You just told us you disabled the suit!”

Tony shook his head in dismay. “You didn’t even have the decency to tell them the truth? Why am I not surprised?”

“But you attacked-” Steve started to protest.

Bucky held up his hand, silencing Steve. “Stark had a good reason to attack. You shouldn’t have attacked him.”

“He was going to kill you!” replied Steve, adamantly.

Tony folded his arms across his chest. “Oh please, if I had really wanted Barnes dead, I could have done it easily, especially after I saw _that_ footage!”

“What is going on?” Bruce couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The hostility between the two was clear. “What the hell happened while we were gone?”

Steve didn’t answer, lowering his gaze, unable to meet Tony’s anymore.

“You’re better off waiting,” grated Tony, his teeth clenching together. Resolutely, he faced the screen again.

Natasha leaned in close to Steve, keeping her voice low so that no one else could hear. “You never told him, did you?”

Steve’s shoulders shook and he minutely moved his head confirming he’d kept the murders of Tony’s parents in the dark.

“You promised me you’d tell him,” she continued. “Otherwise I would have.”

“I couldn’t lose Bucky, Nat…”

Natasha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I trusted you to tell him. I thought you had honour, Steve, and respect for your teammates.”

“I do,” protested Steve.

“Then why didn’t you tell Tony his parents were murdered?” hissed Natasha angrily.

Steve couldn’t answer as shame ran through him.

**Tony jumped up at Stane’s back and started to pull wires out in the armor. “This looks important!”**

“Did you know what it was you were disconnecting?” asked Sam.

“I had a vague guess. He’d based his design on my original suit,” shrugged Tony.

**Stane lost his optical connection.**

**Below them, the Arc Reactor was beginning to overload.**

**Stane struggled to dislodge Tony as he tried to hold on. He succeeded in grabbing Tony and flung him off onto the glass above the Reactor. In the process, he had lost his helmet.**

**Pepper continued to press every button and switch she could find.**

**Stane opened up his suit, holding Iron Man’s helmet in his metal hand. “I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I’m deeply enjoying the suit!” He crushed Tony’s helmet, throwing it back at the Inventor.**

“How are you going to fight back?” whispered Wanda. “It’s going to overload any minute!”

“I’m not going to fight back,” replied Tony. “I couldn’t. The suit was pretty much out of power.”

**Tony glanced up as Stane stalked forward.**

**“You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You’d have made your father proud!”**

Rhodey glared at the screen. “I know you don’t believe it, Tony, but everything you’ve accomplished in your life would have made your father proud. I know he wasn’t a great father to you… but he believed in you.”

Tony wasn’t sure what to say.

**Tony got to his knees as Pepper told him the Arc Reactor was ready and he needed to get off the roof. Her hand hovered over the red overload button. She looked up.**

**Stane pointed his machine gun at Tony. Tony deflected the bullets with a miniature shield in his wrist. The glass smashed beneath his feet and he fell through, managing to cling onto the roof.**

“NO!” Sam yelled.

Wanda flinched, worry flittering across her face.

Clint swallowed, his face pale. “You’re not going to get off the roof, are you?”

**Pepper screamed below as shards of glass fell onto her. She saw Tony hanging above. “Tony!” she yelled.**

**“How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it, its best one ever!”**

“He did,” agreed Bruce. “But you used it for the right reasons. And you always refused to sell your tech so others couldn’t take advantage of it.”

“Doesn’t mean other people didn’t try to attempt it,” pointed out Tony.

**Tony yelled down to Pepper.**

**“And now I’m going to kill you with it!” Stane fired a missile but missed. “You ripped out my targeting system!”**

“Good!” jeered Thor. “The more times he misses you, the angrier he’ll get! He’ll make more mistakes!”

“And be easier to defeat,” said Bucky.

**“Time to press the button!” yelled Tony.**

Wanda choked. “But you’re not off the roof!”

**“You told me not to!” she protested from below.**

**Stane was desperately trying to get an accurate lock on Tony. “Hold still, you little prick!” He fired another missile at Tony and missed.**

**“Just do it!” Tony ordered.**

**“You’ll die!”**

“You were willing to die if it meant stopping him,” whispered Wanda.

“I couldn’t let him escape,” said Tony. “And there was no way I was going to be able to get off that roof.”

“You couldn’t have let yourself drop?” Bucky asked.

Tony shook his head. “No.”

“Mr. Stark would have hit the Arc Reactor, thereby killing him instantly, resulting in a large explosion which not only would have killed Miss. Potts and Mr. Stane, but also destroyed more buildings on site. By not falling into the Arc Reactor at that moment, a better result was achieved, minimising damage to just the building which housed the Arc Reactor,” reasoned Vision. “The casualty statistics were significantly less with the Arc Reactor being allowed to overload as planned.”

Tony marvelled over how Vision was still able to process things from the part of him which had once been JARVIS.

**Another blast from Stane had Tony falling further through the ceiling so he was hanging on with just one hand. “PUSH IT!” he roared.**

**Pepper pushed the red Emergency Bypass Button, covered her head with her hands, and fled as the Arc Reactor overloaded and sent a cascade of energy upwards.**

**Tony is thrown up and out to the side as the energy struck the smaller Reactor in the Iron Monger suit. Obadiah screamed as his whole body was electrocuted.**

“Good!” roared Thor. “About time he got his comeuppance!”

“He deserved that,” hissed Wanda.

“And not me?” Tony surprised her by asking.

Her hair fell past her face. “No. You didn’t.” She could understand why Tony was questioning her. Two hours ago, when they’d started watching this movie, she’d hated him. Now… _I have found respect for him. Something I never thought I would ever have._ It surprised her but it also meant she was capable of seeing past what she had once believed.

**White light burst up into the sky, turning the clouds dark and taking out power in the surrounding area as a thundering boom echoed across the sky.**

**Stane, dead in his suit, falls through the Arc Reactor building and into the Reactor, bursting into flame.**

“Why was it fine for Stane to fall onto the Reactor? It still exploded…” Clint frowned.

“The Reactor wasn’t overloading anymore. Combining the two would have caused catastrophic consequences. When Stane fell, the overload had already happened. The explosion couldn’t travel as far,” explained Tony. “It did set the building on fire though.”

**Tony rolled to the left as the flames whooshed past him.**

**As the whole building goes up in flames, Tony laid on the top, unconscious, as the Arc Reactor light flickers before going dark.**

**Pepper’s voice was faint in the distance as the screen faded black. “Tony!”**

“It wasn’t you who stopped Stane after all,” quipped Sam. “It was Pepper.”

Tony grinned. “She’s good like that. All I did was provide a solution. Pepper did all the hard work.”

“You did keep Stane distracted though,” Bruce pointed out. “If you hadn’t…”

“I know… Pepper would be dead.” Tony shuddered.

Wanda frowned. “How did you survive there? The Arc Reactor in your chest stopped working.”

“There was still minimal power to the Reactor,” explained Tony. “Enough to stop the shards from sliding into my heart. It was a close call.” He had been lucky. The Arc Reactor had lasted long enough for him to be able to get back home and swap it out. In between redesigning the suit, he’d already been working on an upgrade. “I was lucky. Lucky to survive.”

**On the television screen streamed a press conference, with Rhodey currently standing at the podium. He told the press they had all received the official statement of what had occurred at Stark Industries the previous night. He noted there had been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and had caused damage to the Arc Reactor.**

“Which is what I was aware of,” confirmed Sam. “I remember hearing about this on the news and reading it in the papers. It’s nice to have some context to it now.”

**The camera panned back to see Tony sitting looking at ‘The Chronicle’ paper with the headline “WHO IS THE IRON MAN?”**

**Pepper dabbed his face.**

**“Iron Man. That’s kind of catchy. It’s got a nice ring to it. I mean, it’s not technically accurate. The suit’s a gold titanium alloy but it is kind of evocative, the imagery anyway.”**

Bruce cocked his head to the side. “Didn’t realise the press had given you your hero name.”

Tony shrugged. “It was the best way to describe the appearance of the suit. The name stuck. I decided to use it.”

“And then you trademarked it,” noted Rhodey, smiling slightly. “And then made money off of it.”

Steve looked like he was about to say something but Tony’s response stopped him.

“I’m a businessman, what do people expect?” 

**Pepper pulled the tape from the bandage at Tony’s neck.**

**Coulson handed Tony a set of blue cards, telling him that they were his alibi, that Tony was on his yacht. Phil had arranged for port papers to state Tony had been in Avalon all night with 50 of his guests, all of whom had sworn a statement.**

“SHIELD put in a lot of work overnight to sort everything out, to create your cover story for you,” said Natasha.

Tony grinned sheepishly. “And then I ruined it for you.”

“You did.” Natasha didn’t look upset. “I think you did the right thing in telling the world who you were. Should have seen Fury’s reaction.”

“I imagine his choice of words was very colourful?” Tony guessed.

“That, and more,” confirmed Natasha. 

**Tony wasn’t convinced. “See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island.” He smiled a bit and Pepper pulled the tape from his eyebrow. They traded a glance with Pepper telling Tony with her expression to not even try that alibi.**

“Wouldn’t have worked,” said Bruce. “They needed enough witnesses to place you at the scene. The Reporters would have been looking for proof.”

**Phil refused to accept Tony’s other preferred alibi.**

**Tony looked through the cards as Pepper continues to make Tony presentable for the press conference. “There’s nothing about Stane here.”**

**“That’s being handled,” confirmed Coulson. “He’s on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record.”**

“You did stick to that part of the story, didn’t you?” Sam wondered. Before now he had never known of Stane’s involvement, only that he’d died around the time of the incident with the Arc Reactor.

“I did,” said Tony, “with reservations. I didn’t want him to be remembered for something he wasn’t. Thankfully, SHIELD did allow me to publish the details of how he had betrayed the company and had been selling weapons to terrorist groups. SHIELD wouldn’t have been able to stop me if they hadn’t wanted it to leak.”

Natasha shifted in her seat. “That’s why you were not blocked when you decided to release the investigation results to the public. Fury knew you needed too. And, we didn’t want to make an enemy of you.” 

**“But what about the whole cover story that it’s a bodyguard? I mean that’s… that’s kind of flimsy, don’t you think?”**

**“This isn’t my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon this will all be behind you.”**

Tony chuckled. “No, it won’t.”

Rhodey elbowed him. “I think Pepper would prefer if it was.”

Tony knew his friend was referring to the reasons why he and Pepper had taken a break. But they had returned stronger. And she did understand why he needed to be Iron Man, even if she didn’t completely approve of it. They had compromised and their relationship was stronger because of it.

**Pepper brushed her hands and looked to Phil. She followed him as he turned to leave. She wanted to say thank you for all the help he had given them.**

**“That’s what we do,” he confirmed. “You’ll be hearing from us.”**

**“From the Strategic Homeland…” started Pepper.**

**“Just call us SHIELD.”**

**“Right.”**

Clint pointed out: “That’s when SHIELD started to become public. Too much suspicious activity was starting to pop up. We had to come out of the shadows.”

Steve frowned. “But was it not what HYDRA wanted?”

Natasha leaned back on the sofa. “It was. They wanted SHIELD exposed. When HYDRA was using the Helicarriers to target their enemies, they were doing it under the flag of SHIELD. HYDRA could have risen from those ashes to take command and take over the world. Bring down one organisation for another to step into its place.”

“HYDRA has a lot to answer for.” Steve’s face darkened. 

**Coulson walked off and Pepper moved back to Tony’s jacket and helped him into it. “Let’s get this show on the road.”**

**“You know, it’s actually not that bad. Even I don’t think I’m Iron Man.”**

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Of course, you do.”

Tony couldn’t deny it. He was Iron Man.

**“You’re not Iron Man.”**

**“Am so.”**

**“You’re not,” she protested.**

**With the cards in his mouth, Tony grinned. “All right, suit yourself. You know, if I were Iron Man, I’d have this girlfriend who knew my true identity.”**

Everyone groaned.

Sam chuckled. “You’re being way too obvious there, Stark.”

“Tony has never been discreet,” observed Rhodey. “You should see their first kiss.”

**Pepper was busy doing his collar and brushing his shoulders clean.**

**“She’d be a wreck, ‘cause she’d always be worrying that I was going to die.” He turned to face her. “And be so proud of the man I’ve become. She’d be wildly conflicted which would only make her more…” He cleared his throat. “Crazy about me. Tell me you never think about that night.”**

Sam burst out laughing. “Can this get any better?”

Even Tony could see he was being way too forward. He internally groaned.

“Do you mean the night when you were on the balcony?” queried Wanda. “The one where you…?” she trailed off.

**“What night?” she asked seriously.**

**“You know…”**

**Pepper stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. “Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof, and…”**

Sam couldn’t help laughing. “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t but…”

Tony waved him away, a slight smile on his face. “It’s fine. I had it coming.”

**Tony smiled slightly.**

**“…and then you went downstairs to get me a drink, and you left me there, by myself? Is that the night you’re talking about?”**

**“Mmmm…hmmmm.” Tony looked slightly embarrassed.**

Tony held his head in his hands. “I really should have remembered.”

“Did you believe you had a shot with Pepper there?” asked Bucky.

Tony decided to answer truthfully. “We always had a playful, flirty banter between us. I had hoped I might stand a chance since I had become a better person… Pepper was hard to get. But she was worth it.” 

**“Thought so.” She tucked handkerchiefs into his breast pocket. “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”**

**Tony cleared his throat. “Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts.”**

“I honestly do not know how you two managed to work together so long,” observed Rhodey. “I watched this go on between you two for years. I knew one day something would crack.”

“I had to mature…” revealed Tony. “For the better. Pepper wouldn’t have gone for the old me.”

“Even though she clearly fancied you?” Wanda pointed out. She’d seen it earlier on, the obvious attraction between them.

Tony nodded solemnly. “There were a lot of things I did which Pepper did not approve of but put up with. We were friends first and it built from there. Sometimes the best relationships come from those who were friends first. Without Afghanistan… I wouldn’t have changed to become the person who would take a risk to date me. As much as I hated my captivity… in some ways it was a good thing, because I learned who I was truly capable of being. It was the making of me.”

Pepper was good for him.

Sometimes Tony felt he was too lucky, and Pepper would disappear from his life for good. He wasn’t sure what he would do if that ever happened.

_I hope it doesn’t._

**Rhodey stood at the podium. He announced Tony’s arrival and that he had prepared a statement and he would not be taking questions. Rhodey stepped aside as Tony moved to stand in front of the podium.**

**“Err… Been a while since I was in front of you. I’ll figure I’ll stick to the cards this time.” He held up the cards as evidence whilst the audience of reporters laughed.**

**“There’s been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop.”**

**Christine Everhart, in the front row, put up her hand, interrupting him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that you…”**

**Tony cut her off. “I know that it’s confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I’m a superhero.”**

“She completely threw you,” said Bruce. “She never even mentioned the word ‘superhero’ and you extrapolated what she said to mean that.”

“I think a part of me wanted to be recognised it was me in the suit,” admitted Tony. He had revealed it had been him after all. “Guess it was part of my ego speaking… of what I thought I could be if I was given the chance to prove it.”

“And you have proved you are a hero,” said Thor. “You went through the portal with the missile.”

Tony’s lips twitched. “Despite that, I don’t feel like a hero.” Because he didn’t. Roger’s words to him on the Helicarrier still stung. He felt he had something to prove. And he still felt he had something to prove.

**“I never said you were a superhero.”**

**“Didn’t?” Tony had to backtrack. “Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic.” Tony sighed.**

Everyone chuckled at Tony’s attempt to backtrack.

**Christine gave him a look.**

**“I’m just not the hero type clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I’ve made…” He looked at Rhodey. “…largely public…”**

“You should have just come out and said it instead of digging yourself into a bigger hole,” advised Clint. “For someone who is so media-savvy, you didn’t really do well at that press conference, did you?”

Tony had to agree. He’d messed it up from the start. It had turned out alright in the end though.

**Rhodey leaned in close to his ear, advising him to stick to the cards.**

**Tony held up the cards. “The truth is….” Cameras flashed as Tony paused, battling with himself. He looked up at the reporters, swallows, and lowers the card and says: “I am Iron Man.”**

**The Reporters clambered to their feet and Tony smiled.**

“I honestly had a heart attack when you said it, Tony,” Rhodey shook his head. “The number of phone calls I had after that… Man… you really shook the crowd and the news with that revelation.”

“It was on the front page of the news for days,” remembered Sam. “Weeks even.”

“I know I shouldn’t have said it,” explained Tony, “but it felt like the right thing to do. It didn’t feel wrong.”

The screen went black.

“Is this the end of the movie?” asked Bucky.

Before anyone else could answer another scene appeared.

**Tony had walked into his darkened mansion. “JARVIS.”**

**“Welcome home, sir…” His voice fades and Tony noticed a man looking out of his window.**

**“’I am Iron Man’. You think you are the only superhero in the world?” The man turned around. He was wearing an eyepatch. “Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.”**

“I do now,” muttered Tony, glancing around at the others.

**Tony walked forward. “Who the hell are you?”**

**The man walked into the light. “Nick Fury. Director of SHIELD.”**

**“Ah.” It made sense.**

**“I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”**

The screen went black. 

“Is that the end?” Rhodey queried, raising his chin towards the ceiling.

The voice spoke up. _It is._

Wanda was the first to speak up. “Two hours ago, I hated you…” She glanced at the now blank screen. “I find myself now understanding you better. I didn’t expect it.”

Tony stiffened. “There are a lot of things about me you do not realise. A lot of people judge me for what they see, not for what I do.” Sighing, he rubbed a hand down his weary face. “I know we can’t leave this room but isn’t there a bathroom or a kitchen? I need a bit of space after that.” He directed his eyes to the pile of movies still waiting to be watched. “And we’ve still got quite a few more to go.”

“The voice said we can’t leave,” pointed out Natasha.

“And we’re supposed to starve in the meantime?” Tony raised an eyebrow. “The door is in this room. We just can’t see it.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Well?”

The wall to the right of them shimmered. A door appeared.

_If you had known the door was there you would have left. I hid it. However, when you leave this facility you will find time has slowed down. Only those in this facility can move about unhindered._

“Time has slowed down?” Steve shook his head. “What do you mean?”

_For every movie you watch, barely a second passes in the real world. By the time we finish, only ten seconds will have passed._

Tony swallowed. “How have you slowed time?”

_It’s a secret. No one will miss you. No one will notice you are gone in those ten seconds. I was careful to pick you all from a point in time where you will not be noticed to have gone in those precious seconds._

“But with only a small number of seconds passing in the real world… it gives us the chance to change things,” nodded Bruce, understanding the logistics of it. “I do have a question: I’m human now but I was the Hulk before. Thor and I agreed not to mention anything until after this first viewing.” He glanced at his hands. “How did you transform me back?”

_I used a device you developed in the future._

Bruce frowned. “And how did you get your hands on that?”

_You lent it to me._

Bruce wasn’t sure if he could take the Voice’s answers but it was the only logical reason as to why he was human again. “Will I remain human when we return to the ship?”

_No. You’ll revert back to the Hulk but you will remember this time in this facility. I came back to ensure a better future. You will see._

Tony rose from the couch, stretching his arms and his legs. His head was slightly hurting after watching himself onscreen. “I need coffee.” He paused at the door, his hand on the handle. “I’m not going to slow down, am I?”

_No._

“Good.” Tony opened the door and stepped into a kitchen. He didn’t recognise the area. There wasn’t a window either for him to see into the outside world. Where ever this facility was, he wouldn’t be able to determine their location without being able to see outside. There was another door at the end of the room which led to the bathroom, however, there was no other door which led outside.

_Probably hiding it from us,_ he mused. He doubted he would find it if he tried. Whoever this Voice was, they were clearly powerful. As much as Tony wanted to get away from this, he didn’t have much of a choice.

“Tony?”

Wanda’s voice broke through his thoughts. She stepped forward. She pointed towards the coffee maker. “Coffee?”

“Yeah, sure.” He started towards it but Wanda got there first.

He leaned back on the counter, feeling a bit awkward, watching her as she worked. He knew why she was here. She wanted to talk.

There was an uncomfortable silence whilst she made the coffee but when she was done, she pushed a coffee towards him over the counter which he took. She sipped from her own cup, watching him.

“It’s not poisoned,” she pointed out.

Tony sighed. “This is… weird.” There was no other way to describe the situation. “Things have happened to me I never wanted others to know about. That decision has been taken out of my hands. You all know what happened in Afghanistan, and how Iron Man was born. And Stane… what he did…” He curled his fingers into fists, shaking his head.

“Tony?” Wanda started hesitantly. “I was wrong. Wrong to blame you for my parent’s deaths. I was just ten years old, and I saw your name on the side and…”

He stopped her. “Don’t. You don’t need to apologise. I understand. Their blood is still on my hands, regardless. I never knew Obadiah was double-dealing. I never thought to check on him. I trusted Stane to do right by my father’s legacy. If I’d been a better CEO, I would have picked up on those irregularities. Even if I had noticed, Stane would still have found a way to cover it up, blame someone else, and continue trading. He was only caught out because he grew careless.”

“I don’t blame you anymore,” she tried again. “What I did to you in Sokovia… I’m sorry about that too.”

Surprise flickered across his face. He hadn’t expected that. “Ultron was an abandoned project. I’d given up on it. Then you used your powers on me…” He pointed towards the ceiling. “That up there is the endgame. That is what I am fighting for. To protect the Earth from whatever is coming.” He sipped his coffee. “No one understands what Ultron could have been like if he hadn’t gone wrong. Bruce and I were not even close to an interface. Then he suddenly starts working! Maybe I did something right and I never noticed?” Tony shook his head. “I rarely make mistakes when it comes to my work. When it comes to life decisions, I have a poor record. After all this time it amazes me Pepper keeps on coming back. She’s better off away from me.”

“She’s good for you,” observed Wanda.

“Everyone keeps on saying it. I know she’s good for me… but I don’t deserve her.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Finally, Tony broke it. “So… I guess you like me now?”

A smile reached Wanda’s lips. “You’re not as bad as I thought you were.”

He supposed it was something.

“I know Vision visits you,” Tony revealed quietly. “And, you know I’ve always known where you’ve been or are? I’ve been keeping Ross’s people off your backs for months.”

“I didn’t…” Wanda bit her lower lip. “Steve believes the lack of confrontations with government officials means the public is on our side and are not reporting our locations.”

Tony snorted. “No. It’s all me. FRIDAY monitors the phone line, intercepts them, alerts me, and then I pass the information on a few days later. You’re always on the move so I know I can feed them out-of-date information.”

Wanda was stunned. “Why are you protecting us? Why not let them catch up?”

Tony sighed. “Because the world will need you when the time comes. Being in a prison cell isn’t going to help us save it. They will not let any of you out. I let Steve free you from the raft for that very reason. I recognise the bigger picture. More is at stake here then we realise.” He sighed. “We must lose if we’re here now, watching my past and what is presumably our future.”

“You could be wrong,” she pointed out.

Tony chuckled. “If we do not lose, I’ll be surprised. Whatever our future holds, it isn’t good.”

Moving away from the counter, he headed back to the viewing room. “Come on, we’ve got another movie to watch.”

**To be continued in…**

**Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man 2**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> Just a few points: Steve didn't tell everyone what really happened in Siberia. Team Cap just assumed Tony came and betrayed them. They don't know the exact reason why. Steve still doesn't really want to say but everyone in the room will find out the truth when we get to Civil War. 
> 
> Who is the voice? No one has guessed correctly so far. And, the fact time has been slowed, does not mean the identity of the Voice is obvious. We won't find out who the voice is until the end of Endgame. :) 
> 
> Wanda has found a new respect for Tony. Originally, I didn't intend for her to make the change this quick but she did. But I think it works. 
> 
> So, I promised sequel news! All of the movies will be in their own stories as this is part of a series. I debated whether to just continue in one long story, however, for me, I feel it is important to split each movie into a separate story. This was designed as a series. Up next is Iron Man 2. 
> 
> When will I start posting? Sometime in mid-September, I hope. I'm currently writing out the transcript (already got dialogue from elsewhere) but I need to convert that into descriptive text and watch the movie so I am able to describe reactions, facial expressions, scenery etc... So far, I've only managed to get into 10 minutes of Iron Man 2 (I only started yesterday). This is why I cannot promise an update next week. I'd like to get ahead of myself, and I intend to try to write out the movie text descriptions for Avengers, Iron Man 3, Age of Ultron, and Civil War, hopefully quite quickly. I also want to try to write at least half of Iron Man 2 before I start posting. This means that when I do start posting the sequel I should be able to keep up with weekly updates. 
> 
> When I do post the sequel, I will respond to comments for this chapter. Please subscribe/bookmark the series as you'll be notified as well when I post Iron Man 2. 
> 
> Finally, thank you to everyone for all your comments so far. I hope you've all enjoyed this story and will continue with the series! 
> 
> Until next time (I'm hoping for Sunday 20th September!)...
> 
> the-writer1988


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